Attack in Mozambique: authorities claim to regain control
The city of Palma is located in northeast Mozambique and only ten kilometers from the gas megaproject piloted by the French group Total.
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Nearly two weeks after the attack on the port city of Palma by the armed group which calls itself Al-Chabab, the Mozambican authorities claim this Monday, April 5, to gradually regain control of the situation.
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"
It's not over yet (
...)
but a significant number of terrorists have been shot,
" the commander of military operations in Palma told reporters, eleven days after the attack on this port city of 75,000. inhabitants by jihadists and
claimed by the Islamic State group
.
The governor of the province of Cabo Delgado, Valige Tauabo was more triumphant this Monday: “
Our presence here in Palma is the result of the dedication of our defense and security forces to the patriotic cause.
So what they report and which the government has made public is that the job has been done and the enemy overthrown
”.
A doubtful civil society
In the opinion of many experts, whatever the reality of this resumption of Palma by the Mozambican forces, the situation can be reversed at any time by insurgents who have shown their ability to surprise and thwart the plans of the authorities.
Edson Cortez from the NGO
Centro de Integridade Publica
(
Center for Public Integrity
) recalls that since the start of the conflict, the information coming from the field is in contradiction with the official speech: “
The government of Mozambique is still trying to pass the image of a situation under control.
The fact that officers or holders of public authority, such as the governor, assert that the inhabitants will be able to return.
It is rather a propaganda speech, it will not bring the displaced back to their homes.
"
► Also to listen: Decryption - Mozambique: the evolution of the jihadist threat in Africa
Mozambique's neighbors are also worried about
this growing jihadist threat
on the Tanzanian border.
An extraordinary SADC summit is in preparation.
Maputo maintains its position for the moment and refuses regional interference in its internal affairs.
At the same time, the African Union called last week for an urgent regional and international response to the deterioration of security in northern Mozambique.
Displaced people at the end of their rope
The number of people killed in the attack on Palma is still unknown.
As for the displaced, the UN organizations speak of about 11,000 people rescued.
These describe a nightmare lived in Palma during the jihadist raid and during their flight.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is concerned about the humanitarian consequences of the latest violence.
Patrick Youssef, director for Africa of the organization, explains that the populations of the region are at their wit's end: a context of chronic poverty, the after-effects of Cyclone Kenneth, to which are added the displacement of populations linked to the jihadist attacks.
During our last visit to Pemba, our president and I testified about 25,000 people who had hosted the same number of internally displaced people.
There are therefore 50,000 people living in acute precariousness.
Patrick Youssef (ICRC) on the situation in Mozambique
Laurent Correau
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Mozambique
Defense
Terrorism