Mozambique: Rwandan forces claim 70 insurgents killed in Cabo Delgado

According to a report by AIM News on 10 June 2024, Rwandan troops assisting Mozambican forces in combating the Islamist insurgency in Cabo Delgado came under attack and claim to have killed at least 70 militants in Mbau, in  the Mocímboa da Praia district. According to Mozambican Television, these militants are said to have been part of a group of 150 who attacked Mbau on 29 May.
 

World Watch Research analyst Yonas Dembele comments: “Mbau administrative post in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique has recently been targeted by the insurgency which is led by radical Islamic group Ansar al-Sunnah, also known as Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamaah (ASWJ), a group affiliated with the Islamic State group. These attacks have been part of a broader campaign of violence and intimidation by Ansar al-Sunnah, which has been seeking to establish an Islamic state in Mozambique. Since October 2017, attacks by this group have killed over 4,000 people and forced around a million to leave their home areas and seek refuge in safer places, triggering a humanitarian crisis.”
 

Yonas Dembele continues: “Christians in the Cabo Delgado province have not been spared and have endured a campaign of targeted violence, destruction of churches, displacement, and economic devastation at the hands of this group, with some being forced to convert to Islam. This has created a climate of fear and insecurity among Christians. It is hoped that the Mozambican and Rwandan troops will continue to make progress against the insurgency not just in the Mbau area but in the Cabo Delgado province as a whole, thus helping protect local Christian communities and other citizens.”