Monthly Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Brief for East and Central Africa (Somalia, Mozambique, DR-Congo, Tanzania, Uganda): Tracking Islamic State Terrorists In July 2022

INCIDENT REPORT

MOZAMBIQUE

• 31^st July- insurgents attacked in the area between Nova Zambezia and Vida Nova, ambushing a column of vehicles on the EN380 road, killing the driver of a fuel tanker and wounding three others.
• 26^th July- ISM terrorists assaulted SAMIM soldiers beheading 3 and burning more than 20 houses In Chitunda Village in Nangade.
• 23^rd July- dozens of homes and vehicles were burned in Metobe village in Mocimboa da Praia (MDP) after an attack on Christians.
• 24^th July- insurgents killed two or three farmers working in their fields between Nkoe and Nova Zambezia in Macomia.
• 20^th July- ISM attacked Chitolo in MDP.
• 19^th July- 5 people were beheaded and two motorcycles were burned following an ISM assault in Machichme village in the Ancuabe district.
• 15^th July- armed ISM militants attacked Quifuqui Island in CD.
• 13^th July- armed fighters attacked Muaja village in Ancuabe district.
• 12^th July- 1 soldier was killed after a Mozambican army patrol was targeted with a grenade on the road between Nkoe and Nova Zambezia in Macomia.
• 13^th July- Insurgents beheaded two men working the fields outside the village of Muaja, located on the border of Ancuabe with Montepuez.
• 13^th July- at least 16 militants attacked Vumba Island off the coast of MDP and looted houses for food.
• 13^th July- ISM militants attacked a Mozambican army post in Quitolo village in MDP. One soldier was killed in the attack.
• 13^th July- insurgents clashed with security forces again around Quinto Congresso, 14 km to the east of Nkoe. At least one soldier was killed and another wounded, and a large number of arms and ammunition including rocket-propelled grenades and at least one mortar round.
• 12^th July- ISM razed over 100 houses and injured at least 5 people in Nkoe village in the Chai area of Macomia district.
• 12^th July- A Mozambican Army patrol was targeted with automatic weapons, which led to the killing of 1 and wounding of several others. The attack occurred in Quinto village of Macomia district.
• 11^th July- ISM militants were actively involved in a clash in the Mingonha area in the Ancuabe district.
• 10^th July- a Christian was beheaded, and a government building and several village houses were razed after terrorists attacks Nazimoja village in Meluco.
• 09^th July- ISM militants took temporary control of a base that house both Mozambican and Rwandan troops in Pundahar, Palma district.
• 9^th July- Militants attacked Christians beheading 2 of them and burning a church and dozens of houses in Nikor Village, Ancuabe District.
• 07^th July- 2 Christians were beheaded and 15 Houses and a School were burned in Maitio Village, Meluco District.
• 3^rd July- several Christians were killed after an attack in Muicava village in the Ancuabe district.
• 2^nd July- Christian villagers were forced to flee after militants attacked and burned houses in Iba village, Meluco district.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC)

• 29^th July- a man was attacked with automatic weapons and his motorcycle burned in Nyaleke village, Beni on the Kasindi-Beni-Butembo road.
• 25^th July- ISCAP militants attacked Kabusongora located near Boga in Ituri province.
• 21^st July- A Congolese soldier was stabbed to death by ISCAP militants in Bulambo, Beni.
• 21^st July- ISCAP militants attacked and killed a Congolese soldier and seized his weapon in Idohu, Komanda Area of Ituri.
• 20^th July- ISCAP terrorists reportedly attacked Apende village in Ituri.
• 19^th July- ISCAP attacked Congolese Army barracks in Nyaleke village east of the Beni region.
• 15^th July- ISCAP militants attempted an unsuccessful prison break of the Central prison in Mbelo village, Rwangoma in Beni but instead succeeded in dislodging and razing Congolese army barracks.
• 14^th July- Militants attacked the Congolese Army barracks in Nzinga village, Rwangoma, Beni region with automatic weapons, forcing them to flee and seizing their weapons.
• 13^th July- ISCAP militants attempted a prison break On Kangbayi Central Prison and assaulted a nearby military camp, Beni Region.
• 13^th July- at least 3 people were killed after terrorists stormed Kyabanganzi village, near Boga, Ituri Province.
• 13^th July- ISCAP conducted3 coordinated nighttime assaults on three separate neighborhoods of Paida, Rwangoma, and Kithahomba Inside Beni City Limits.
• 13^th July- at least 3 Christians were killed by ISCAP in Kasanzi and Bolongo in Beni.
• 13^th July- 13 Congolese Army and Militias loyal to them were killed and injured with automatic weapons in clashes in Mongi village, Ituri province.
• 12^th July- 5 Christians were killed and their homes burned in Baida Neighbourhood, Beni Region,
• 12^th July- ISCAP attacked a Congolese military barracks prompting them to flee. Weapons and ammo were seized in the attack in Nayalki, Beni.
• 12^th July- ISCAP conducted a nighttime attack in the Bulongo area of the Rwenzori sector, Beni.
• 09^th July–  at least 15 Christians were killed and some houses were burned in Bosio village, Irumu Territory, Ituri Province.
• 08^th July– at least 15 Christians were killed, and their houses and property were burned in Lume village in Beni.
• 07^th July- ISCAP militants razed homes and military barracks in Malulu, Irumu Territory, Ituri Province
• 05^th July- ISCAP attacked and forced soldiers to flee from their barracks in Bolongo, Beni region.
• 5^th July- militants killed a Congolese soldier and burned his motorcycle on the road in Bolongo village, Beni region.
• 04^th July- militants targeted Christians with automatic weapons, killing 1 and burning a vehicle, in Makisabo village on Beni-Kasindi road in Beni.
• 03^rd July- 3 people were killed and their homes and vehicles burned in Bolongo village in Beni.
• 1^st July- at least 1 person was killed and several injured following an attack with automatic weapons on the Beni-Kasindi road in Beni. A truck was set on fire in the attack.

SOMALIA

• 28^th July- 1 Somali police officer was killed and 2 others injured after an IED exploded on a police foot patrol on Mogadishu-Afgoye Road.
• 18^th July- an IED was detonated at vehicles of ATMIS forces causing the damage of one vehicle at the Ali Ameen intersection in Mogadishu.
• 2^nd July- militants detonated an IED on a foot patrol of Somali Police, injuring two, on the Mogadishu-Afgoye road in Mogadishu.

INSIGHTS

Mozambique

The group continued to target soft targets and avoiding direct confrontations with security forces for most parts of the month but with occasional attacks on Mozambican troops. Direct attacks in the past have been used by the militants as avenues to loot military equipment including weapons and military uniforms.

A report to the UN Security Council by a team of experts monitoring ISIS and Al-Qaeda says that South Africa is emerging as an important conduit in facilitating transfers of funds from ISIS leadership to affiliates in Africa. The Monitoring Team stated that there is evidence of several large transactions totaling more than $ 1 million which are believed to have made their way to various ISIS affiliates in Africa.

Economically CD continues to suffer as more companies continue to pull out their operations in the various districts marred by the ongoing violence. The British cotton company Plexus recently announced that it will be pulling out of Cabo Delgado, leaving some 50,000 small cotton farmers who were hoping to sell Plexus their cotton production adrift.

Intelligence has revealed that there are likely to be several hundred armed insurgents, as well as hostages and camp followers, in the Catupa forest which is one of the largest camps. The thick forest has proved impenetrable and has offered cover and geographical upper hand for the militants against local troops as well as allied SAMIM and Rwandan troops. From here they have been able to launch raids along the Macomia coastline as well as inland, across a belt of northern Macomia, but also south towards Quissanga district.

On July 14^th President Nyusi announced that a militants’ base in Catupa forest was captured by joint efforts but the news appeared to have been greatly exaggerated seeing as Catupa houses a huge number of militants and as such the capture ought to have been backed by a large arrest or casualty count which was not the case, intelligence revealed that the camp reportedly captured was already vacated which further highlights the organizational complexity of ISM’s operations.

Possible Leadership Change

Sources in Cabo Delgado have claimed that in a meeting held in Macomia in mid-June during the days following the Catupa attack, the group elected another leader. Farido Selemane Arune is believed to be close to Bonomade Machude Omar alias Ibn Omar, to replace Ibn Omar. Farido is credited with having led military missions including the ambush of an FDS column in 2019, in the region of Marere, MDP as well as attacks on Pangane in Mucojo.

Farido Selemane Aruneis a senior member of the insurgency and is believed to have joined the group that would become the insurgency in 2016, at the age of around 27. He grew up in Milamba, a majority ethnic Mwani neighborhood of Mocímboa da Praia town,

Farido’s ascendency into a leadership position in the insurgency will have been helped by the fact that many of the insurgency’s top personnel are Tanzanians and other foreigners, who end up returning to their countries of origin.

TANZANIA

Reports from both Cabo Delgado and the Mtwara region of southern Tanzania indicate that the movement of insurgents across the border continues. Sources in Cabo Delgado refer to at least two incidents in the past week. Mosques in border villages in Tanzania have in the past been used as staging posts for recruits making their way to Cabo Delgado. A security consultant report from Mozambique mentions that on 26 July a group of 95 youths, mostly Tanzanian, were arrested on their way to Cabo Delgado. The arrests further reiterate the growing foreign population in the surgency a fact that heightens the threat posed by the insurgency.

SOMALIA

On July 30, 2022, ISS released a 25-minute video in Amharic seeking to recruit Ethiopian Muslims to join ISIS in Somalia. The video was subtitled into Arabic and titled “On the Path of the Conquerors”.

In the video, the militants are also making a political statement by shooting at pictures of US President Joe Biden and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during their training. The video was quite well-timed as it coincided with the attacks on Ethiopian forces by Al Shabaab in Somalia. It is important to note that this is not the first time that ISS has attempted to lure recruits from Ethiopia since its establishment in 2015.

D.R. CONGO

In DRC an observable trend is the attack on prisons in Beni where affiliates, members, and sympathizers of ISCAP are imprisoned. Prison breaks are a common practice of ISIS and are one avenue to break out their members as well as recruits usually recruited during their incarceration. In Beni, despite allied troops’ presence in the region, attacks on their barracks with automatic weapons observed a spike in July a move that can be used to both intimidate the civilians as well as acquire military-grade military equipment.

The last week of July was characterized by anti-UN protests in the DRC’s eastern region, with 36 people, including four peacekeepers killed and 170 wounded. Protesters are demanding the withdrawal of UN forces from the central African country for failing to rein in rebel groups in the east who mastermind lethal attacks against civilians.

A delegation of military officers from member countries of the East African Community (EAC) arrived Friday, July 15 in Beni. It was led by Major General Jeff Munyanga of the Kenyan army. The EAC military officers sought to have a general idea of ​​the security situation in Beni this is the first step in preparation for the deployment of the EAC joint regional force to aid in peace restoration in North Kivu and Ituri province.

NOTABLES:

• South Africa continues to raise concern over its increasing and alleged expanding role as a pipeline for funds from the leadership of ISIS to its various affiliates in Africa including IS-MOZ in Cabo Delgado (Mozambique) and ISCAP in North Kivu and Ituri province (DRC).
• Catupa Forest in Macomia, Mozambique continues to host one of the largest IS-MOZ encampments and despite the allied troops’ presence the militancy continues to exhibit supremacy and sophistication in their continued violent campaign.
• Intelligence indicates a possible leadership in ISM to replace Ibn Omar. Farido Selemane Arune close ally to Bonomade Machude Omar alias Ibn Omar.
• In DRC there were fierce anti-MONUSCO riots that led to the death of over 30 people. Residents protested demanding the departure of the UN peacekeepers who have not achieved the mandate of the mission. This is mainly triggered by the ongoing attacks by ISCAP despite the presence of the peacekeepers.
• IS-SOMALIA attempts to recruit from Ethiopia by releasing a video in Amharic calling for believers to travel to Somalia to join the terror organization.