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Read, Debate: Engage.
| topic: | Security |
|---|---|
| located: | Mozambique, Syria, Iraq, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| editor: | Bob Koigi |
The recent beheading of 50 Mozambique civilians attending a cultural event by an insurgent group with affiliation to the Islamic State has amplified the existential threat posed by modern terror groups even as the humanitarian crisis in the Southern Africa country spiral out of control.
What started as a simple local militant group that used crude weapons, was disorganised and shared guns has now mutated into a lethal militant group with its operational tactics bearing the hallmarks of conflicts experienced in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the conflict in the mineral rich North Eastern area of Mozambique erupted in 2017, an estimated 2,000 people have been killed and more than 400,000 displaced from their homes.
And as the situation exacerbates, citizens have been caught in the crossfires with about 54 of them having perished after a boat they were traveling in as they escaped the conflict capsized. In August, 40 refugees fleeing the war died when government security officers opened fire on their boat after mistaking them for insurgents.
Thousands more have been trapped in forests where they are in hideout as they await a ceasefire. In such deplorable conditions they risk contracting diseases and starving to death.
The ongoing conflict is threatening to spill beyond Mozambique with reports indicating that the militants in October attacked villages in Southern Tanzania with rocket fire having injured 12 civilians. The alarm has now been sounded on the other countries that intersect with Mozambique including Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe over possible attacks. This could escalate the Islamist incursion in Africa following the insurgent group’s forays into Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Niger and Mali.
Yet regional bodies like Southern African Development Community, SADC, the African Union and even the international community haven’t given the Mozambique situation the serious attention and action it deserves. As Islamic State infiltrates what was once a peaceful Southern African region, exploiting the desperate and jobless youth and radicalizing them, the ripple effects are bound to be felt beyond Southern Africa with the Islamic State fast gaining foothold across Africa in what could have devastating and lasting implications for the continent.
