Monthly Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Brief for East and Central Africa (Somalia, Mozambique, DR-Congo, Tanzania, Uganda): Tracking Islamic State Terrorists In January 2023

Incident Report

MOZAMBIQUE

• 25^th Jan– ISM militants conducted an armed assault on a Nkala Village in the Mueda district, Cabo Delgado.
• 22^nd Jan– ISM terrorists clashed with a patrol unit belonging to the Mozambican military in Litandacua village in Muidumbe district.
• 10^th Jan– Mozambican troops were ambushed by militants on the road between Litamanda and Miangalewa villages in Muidumbe district.
• 10^th Jan– ISM conduct another armed ambush on Mozambican troops in Xitaxi village located between Macomia and Muidumbe districts. At least 3 soldiers were killed in the attack.
• 08^th Jan– militants ambushed an army patrol unit in Litandacua, Macomia district. During the attack, the militants seized weapons and a reconnaissance drone.
• 08^th Jan– Mozambican military positions in Nguida village, Macomia were attacked by ISM militants; weapons seized.
• 09^th Jan– armed fighters attacked the military in Mandava village in Macomia. This is the first attack in the area since July 2021.
• 04^th Jan– there was a gunfire exchange between the terrorists and the Mozambican troops in Chai and Litamanda villages in the Macomia district.
• 04^th Jan– allied security forces launched operation Vulcão IV which was aimed at destroying the ISM’s bases in Macomia and Muidumbe districts.
• 04^th Jan– one man was beheaded and three women kidnapped following an ISCAP attack in Chacamba village in Nangade district.

DRC

• 26^th Jan– two members of the revolutionary guard were killed by ISCAP in a nighttime attack in the Kalinda area in the Beni region.
• 23^rd Jan– militants ambushed and killed three Christians on the RN27 road in Ituri province.
• 23^rd Jan– two soldiers were killed and the army barracks were razed to the ground following an ISCAP attack on the base near Irumu in Ituri province.
• 23^rd Jan– ISCAP militants conducted a nighttime attack in the Bashu area in Beni that left at least 25 people dead and multiple homes burned to the ground.
• 18^th Jan– one Congolese soldier was killed and multiple homes burned in a nighttime assault by ISCAP in Bashu, Beni region.
• 15^th JAN– A soldier’s father was assassinated by ISCAP along the RN44 near Biakato village in Kainama area of Ituri Province.
• 15^TH Jan– ISCAP conducted a bombing at a Protestant church in Kasindi, Beni during the Sunday service. The bombing killed over 20 people and left another forty seriously injured.
• 08^th Jan– ISCAP attacked civilians along the RN4 (Mambasa-Komanda) road in Eringeti in the Beni region.
• 01^st Jan– ISCAP ambushed a truck along the RN2 road that links Beni, Butembo, and Kasindi in North Kivu Province.

SOMALIA

• 20^th Jan– Islamic State Somalia released a video titled ‘God is the Guardian of the Believers’ a video. ISWAP the released media of its members watching and discussing the video from their Somali counterpart.
• 12^th Jan– ISS attacked Puntland forces in the Beli Tadan area that is located southeast of Bosaso.
• 07^th Jan– ISS detonated an IED targeting a Somali police officer along the linking Mogadishu and Afgooye.

INSIGHTS:

In January several videos of soldiers in Cabo Delgado displaying misconduct surfaced online which has caused uproar and calls for investigations. One of the videos showed soldiers belonging to SAMIM, one with a South African flag dumping two bodies into a fire near Nkonga village in Nangade District in November 2022. This violates the 1949 Geneva Conventions which stipulate that the bodies of enemy combatants are not to be desecrated. The other video has shown soldiers brutally flogging people who are believed to be members of the Islamic State at an undisclosed location.  

The rains that started in recent weeks are projected to continue affecting insurgents’ movement. Both the Ruvuma and Messalo rivers are flowing now, which restricts the movements of groups of fighters across the province. Additionally, they have shown tactical restraint against the civilian population which has been viewed as a ‘future investment’ this is to mean that the group is giving the people time to plant in hope of future supplies.

The group ramped up attacks against the military which is a method that is mostly used by the militants to stock up on supplies, especially weapons and ammunition. The increase in ambushes on government troops is a sign that the militants are gearing up for a resurgence and are looking to restock the weapons which were seized by the Rwandan troops in various locations last year.

Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) and Rwanda National Police announced having extended their deployment to Ancuabe; they will be responsible for assisting Mozambican forces in providing security for this district while continuing with their operations in Palma and Mocímboa da Praia.

ISCAP conducted a bomb attack at the parish of the 8th Community of Pentecostal Churches of Congo in the city of Kasindi in North Kivu. The attack occurred in the border town when the church was in full worship. Following the attack, the Congolese police arrested an individual of Kenyan descent in connection to the attack. According to intelligence, the man who has since been identified as 29-year-old Abdirizak Muktar Garad, who hails from Wajir County, northern Kenya was the mastermind of the attack.

 Rwanda accused DRC of hiring Russian mercenaries to operate in Goma a move that was termed to be in direct violation of the Luanda agreement and the peace process that hopes to end the decades-long conflict in the eastern region of DRC. The accusations have been vehemently denied by Kinshasa who has reiterated that Kigali is still backing M23 rebels who have been capturing territories in Goma and who refused to respect the ceasefire in place in the region.

EACRF continues regular peace enforcement patrols in areas ceded by M23 Rebels despite the eruption of protests by the locals.  Protests erupted in Goma city as residents protested against the “passivity” of the EACRF against rebels accused of committing violence. Residents and the EAC force appear to be at loggerheads: the force’s mandate is to support the political peace process while the residents who were hoping for a full combat response against the rebels are dissatisfied with the approach.