Mozambique: who are the shebabs in the north of the country? - RFI

By Alexandra BrangeonPosted on 26-09-2018Modified the 26-09-2018 at 13:30

Mozambique was again the target of an Islamist attack on September 20, when 12 people from a village in the north of the country were killed and 14 wounded in an attack on a jihadist group known as the shebabs. Since its emergence, it is the most deadly attack attributed to this Islamist sect established in the north of the country and which advocates a radical Islam.

In Mozambique, the shebab movement, "the young people" in Arabic, was born about four years ago in Cabo Delgado province, in the north of the country, on the border with Tanzania. This movement, which claims a strict application of the Koran, is estimated at several hundred sympathizers, between 500 and 1,000, from young people who have radicalized in contact with a foreign imam settled in the region.

The movement gradually became militarized and launched its first attack a year ago, on October 5, 2017, against a police station and an army barracks in the city of Mocimboa da Praia . Since then, he has launched twenty or so more and more violent attacks, the last of which was on Thursday, September 20th.

" There has been a change in strategy ," says researcher Eric Morier-Genoud of Belfast University in Northern Ireland. During the first attack, the attackers made it clear that they would not attack the population, that they were angry with the police and the state. We have evolved into a situation where they attack civilians, villages, where they decapitate people, burn villages ... "

" It's a worsening situation ," he continues. But it seems that the attacks are relatively targeted. They kill some people, party officials, who inform the police of their own position. The latest attacks are significant because they seem to have used many more weapons than in the past, AK47, whereas before, it was mainly machetes. According to some witnesses, there were also bazookas and they were dressed with military equipment. "

International network ?

The group is composed mainly of Mozambicans but would also include Tanzanians and Somalis. According to the Mozambican police, some have received military training in Tanzania as well as in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

According to Eric Morier-Genoud, this group certainly has links with Islamist militants in southern Tanzania, because of its geographical proximity, but is still a national group.

For the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank, there may be links between this Mozambican movement and the Somali Islamist group of the same name. In a report released last week , ICG says Somali shebabs are trying to network with militants in southern Tanzania, as well as northern Mozambique, the only region in the country with a Muslim majority.

Poverty, root of the problem

From the first attacks of last year, the Mozambican government has responded rather brutally. Several hundred people were arrested, several mosques considered too radical were closed and some villages destroyed.

Rather than trying to tackle the source of the problem, namely the underdevelopment of the region, youth unemployment and poverty, the government immediately sent the army.

For the Mozambican journalist Fernando Lima, this can not be a long-term solution and the repression has even exacerbated the violence. " It's very difficult for the government to control the whole situation ," he says. This province of Cabo Delgado is one of the largest in the country. And so, it is almost impossible to post security forces throughout the province and each village. But I think the latest attacks are clearly a response to the military claiming that everything is under control. A message to say that the attacks will continue . "

Northern Mozambique is a strategic region, certainly underdeveloped but with significant potential. It is home to oil and gas fields off its coast, which are operated by the American group Anadarko and the Italian Eni. The British company Gemfield also operates ruby ​​mines. But according to the inhabitants of the region, these riches do not benefit the local populations.

On the same subject

Mozambique: Security forces kill nine members of "Al-Shabab" group

Mozambique: who are the shebabs of Mocimboa da Praia?

Mozambique: Tense security situation in the north of the country

The Shebab terrorists, a plague for Somali refugees in northern Kenya

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