INCIDENT REPORT
MOZAMBIQUE
- 10th Oct- one person was killed and multiple houses burned to the ground as ISM militants attacked Ntole village in Nangade District.
- 10th Oct- Namithoko village was attacked and burned to the ground by the militants. The village is located in the Macomia district.
- 09th Oct- insurgents attacked Namituco in the Chicomo area of Macomia, about 10 km south of Nguida.
- 09th Oct- at least 5 security force members were killed and over 35 homes were razed to the ground in Mandava village in Muidumbe district.
- 08th Oct- insurgents shot and killed one person as well as burned and looted the village of Litandacua located south of Messalo River in Macomia. They were then driven out of the village by local forces.
- 08th Oct- ISM terrorists attacked Nguda village in Macomia with guns and burned at least 13 homes in the village.
D.R. CONGO
- 09th Oct- a police officer was attacked and killed by ISCAP militants in Musimba village, Lubero area in North Kivu Province.
- 05th Oct- at least 11 civilians were killed by ISCAP insurgents in the Banande-Kainama area in, the Beni-Mbau sector in North Kivu.
- 04th Oct- at least 10 people were killed including an Anglican pastor and at least 20 others missing following attacks by ISCAP militants in Vido village in Beni, North Kivu. The attackers also torched over 25 houses in the attack.
- 03rd Oct- ISCAP detonated an IED at a movie theatre in the Fusinzira neighborhood in Butembo, the attacks left at least 10 people injured.
- 02nd Oct- at least 13 people were killed in a nighttime attack by ISCAP in the Kiama area in Ituri province. Multiple homes were also burned to the ground in the attack.
- 02nd Oct- several houses were razed and a member of the militia loyal to the Congolese troops was killed in an ISCAP attack in Mayo Anu; a town located along the Mambasa-Komanda road in Ituri province.
NOTABLES
In Mozambique, a handwritten letter was circulated on social media; written in Kiswahili, the letter urged the residents not to be afraid while at the same time threatening sympathizers of the government troops.
The trust and suspicion between the locals and the government troops are at an all-time high as the residents continue to indicate that the troops use ISM as scapegoats for their crimes as well as for harassing civilians without cause.
Even as the group appears to be moving south, the Messalo river remains a significant haven and connector for groups of insurgents operating across Cabo Delgado. Attacks conducted in Macomia, Meluco, Mueda, and Muidumbe districts in recent months have for the most part been close to the river a clear indicator that there is a significant presence and large camps along the river.
ISM has been using exaggerated projections that have seen information circulating on some social networks in the backdrop of the fifth anniversary of ISM’s takeover of the port town of Mocimboa da Praia (MDP). The group recently extended attacks into Nampula province and insiders within the group have maintained that the long-term goal for ISM is to expand into Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
As the insurgency marks five years in Cabo Delgado, a lot of questions have been raised on the effectiveness of the government and allied troops’ intervention in the region seeing as the success to root out the malignant insurgency is lacking. The troops (Rwandan, Mozambican, and SAMIM) are faced with challenges that include; a lack of communication and coordination among all parties, a lack of intelligence gathering and integration as well as overall logistical snags.
In DRC, the first two weeks of October have seen a lull in jihadist activities which has given the residents relief. However, the militancy appears to be exploring alternative attack methods with the use of IEDs being one of them. The militants detonated a bomb in a movie theatre an attack that left at least 10 people injured.
The East African Community (EAC) starts deployment of regional troops to D.R Congo with Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) expected in Bunagana, near the border with Uganda. Other countries will follow and the regional troops will be deployed across three provinces; Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu provinces to fight against the various rebel groups as well as ISCAP terrorists.
