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

 In May the Islamic State in the Great Lakes region has seen gains and shortfalls in equal measures in its areas of operation; Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Somalia.

In Mozambique, the group has been credited as Wilayah Mozambiq by ISIS-Central in several attacks which can be viewed as the group’s way of inflating its reach and presence in Africa. Intelligence indicates that the group has been expanding from Macomia and Nangande districts and into Meluco where several attacks were reported in May. Defections are on the rise as pressure from the allied troops as well as food and supplies shortages force the group to prune unnecessary members leaving only the core fighters and members unlikely to waiver or betray the group’s belief.

In DRC, despite the ongoing CT operations by both Ugandan and Congolese troops with backup from the UN peacekeepers, ISCAP continues its violent campaign and has seemingly become more ruthless. The spike in attacks is despite the recent ceasefire invitation and talks triggered by the entry of DRC into the East Africa Community. The kidnappings, lootings, beheadings as well as burning down of both homes and vehicles is a characteristic of the May attacks by ISCAP in both North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

INCIDENT REPORT

Mozambique

• 1^st May- a bus ferrying passengers were attacked by militants outside Litingina, 10 km south of Chibau in Nangade. The militants open fired at the bus injuring 3 people.
• 1^st May- 1 person was killed and another injured after the same militants attacked Litingina town.
• 3^rd May- several people were beheaded after insurgents attacked Muhia village located 10 km north of Nangade town, near the Tanzanian border.
• 6^th May- Insurgents attacked Olumbe village, Palma where they threatened the residents to leave and looted food and other supplies.
• 7^th May- insurgents attacked 3 de Fevereiro, just east of Nangade town where they attempted to kidnap a woman and her child.
• 8^th May- insurgents struck the Rovuma village lowlands, capturing several people in fields around Nankuka, and the Nangade district.
• 9^th May- 3 Mozambican soldiers were killed and two others injured and their barracks were torched in Quiterajo in the Macomia district.
• 10^th May- insurgents raided Nova Familia village in Nangade district and stole bags of dry cassava and other foodstuffs. No casualties were reported.
• 20^th May– six people were beheaded in Nova Zambezia and Nkoe villages in Macomia.
• 21^st May– Olumbe village in Palma district was attacked for the second time in two weeks and houses were looted and burned.
• 22^nd May– at least three people were killed by ISCAP militants in Nguida village, Macomia
• 22^nd May– several homes were burned to the ground after militants attacked and reportedly killed one person in Chicomo village.
• 23th May– insurgents attempted to raid the village of Mandela in Muidumbe district but were repelled by local militia following a short exchange of fire.
• 26^th May– A District Services for Health, Women and Social Action (SDSMAS) car was attacked in the area around Muaguide village in Meluco district. Healthcare equipment was stolen along with 9,000 meticais ($140) and some mobile phones. No casualties have been recorded, but a nurse traveling in the car is reported missing.
• 26^th May– several homes were burned down in Pitolha village, Meluco district.
• 28^th May– a vehicle was ambushed outside Tete Village on a stretch of road between Mocímboa da Praia and Palma, near the border between the two districts.
• 29^th May– several homes were burned down in Namituco village, Meluco district.
• 29^th May– Security forces found a decapitated body on the roadside between Unguia village and the Meluco district.
• 30^th May– A civilian car was attacked between Tete and Quelimane several passengers were injured.
• 30^th May– militants stormed and burned homes in Pretoria Village, Meluco district

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

• 06^th May- a Congolese military barrack in Lomi village, Beni was attacked, the soldiers fled and the militants razed it after seizing weapons and other supplies.
• 07^th May- 1 Christian was killed, several others injured, and 3 motorbikes burned by militants who attacked them with machine guns on the road linking Bolongo and Kasindi in the Beni region.
• 8^th May- ISCAP and a Congolese patrol clashed at Kikinji village in Beni where 3 soldiers were killed and the weapons and ammo seized.
• 9^th May- ISCAP ambushed a Christian convoy and razed 9 trucks and a passenger bus, on the Komanda – Mambasa Highway in Ituri.
• 10^th May- local militia allied to the Congolese troops was attacked in Mbonji, Ituri province by ISCAP where at least 13 members were killed and several others injured.
• 10^th May- 3 people were killed and at least 9 vehicles burned following an attack by ISCAP in Kundala Kundala village located between Komanda and Mambasa, Ituri province.
• 12^th May- a joint barracks for the Congolese-Ugandan forces were attacked with automatic weapons, which led to the killing of 1 dead and several wounded. The militants then seized machine guns, RPGs, and ammunition.
• 19^th May- at least 12 Christians were killed in an ambush in Kizroho village, Ituri province. Homes and motorcycles were burned to the ground.
• 26^th May- at least 3 Congolese soldiers were killed, and weapons and ammunition seized in an attack on their barracks in Mwenda, Rwenzori sector.
• 29^th May- at least 37 people were killed and several others injured following a brutal massacre in Beu Manyama village in Beni.
• 30^th May- at least 7 trucks were razed by militants in Beni territory. The trucks were part of a supply convoy.
• 30^th May- At least 16 people were killed, 7 others wounded and at least 6 vehicles were burned in an ISCAP attack in Bulongo in the Ruwenzori sector, on the Beni-Kasindi road in Beni.

SOMALIA

• 02^nd May- 1 Somali police officer was killed and 5 others injured after a hand grenade was hurled at a patrol in the Dar As-Salaam neighborhood in Mogadishu.

TANZANIA

• 13^th May- 12 insurgents were arrested trying to cross the Rovuma river in a canoe and handed over to the troops in Mueda.

NOTABLES

Mozambique

In Mozambique, SAMIM forces have reportedly failed to respond, even when insurgents came within 2 km of their positions, especially in Nangade where cases of kidnappings and beheadings have resurged. This apparent and continued lack of action has further undermined public confidence and trust in the SAMIM operation to protect civilians. The allied forces continue to be accused of not doing enough to fight the militants as they appear to have adopted a deterrence-oriented approach other than a full-blown attack tactic against ISCAP.

Intelligence further reveals that Rwandan troops who are usually responsible for Palma and Mocímboa da Praia districts have recently expanded their area of operation to intervene in Nangade to pursue the insurgents. The arrival was marked by a reported surrender of an unspecified number of militants from different backgrounds. The RDF also reportedly killed over 10 militants who were hiding in a local businessman’s house which has put further strain on the network of the insurgency that has been wreaking havoc in the areas in the last few weeks.

The Islamic State (ISIS-Central) claimed the attack citing that it was conducted by the ‘Wilayah Mozambiq’ making it the first time the ISCAP branch in Mozambique has been referred to as such since it swore its allegiance to ISIS.

Intelligence further reveals that the growing number of insurgents looking to return to their villages and seeking out the government for amnesty and reintegration is growing which creates a great opportunity for CT actors in CD to undermine the numbers and capability of the terror organization. Defections are increasingly becoming common as most of the defectors cite hunger as a dominant issue and broken promises especially financial promises that were sold to the youth when they were lured into the organization.

ISCAP has been consistently releasing hostages as well as allowing its fighters to return with a likely intention of weeding out members likely to betray them and defect and just leaving in the encampments true believers and core fighters who are only committed to the cause.

Towards the end of the month, there have been reports of drone citings as well as militants being arrested setting up IEDs by the roadsides which will affect the progress made by CT actors. IEDs in the past have been used by terror organizations as either an independent attack mode or supplementary attack for gun attacks. The current movement of troops across the main roads in CD would prompt an already weakened militancy to use IEDs to aid in their attacks and to minimize casualties on their side especially as the group has seen an increase in defections.

At least one hundred militants are reported to have defected and surrendered to the troops in CD a move that is majorly prompted by the ongoing campaign as well as the supply shortage experienced by the fighters in the bush. The recent ‘defections’ have been angering the public who have suffered a lot of losses and as such this recent group almost git lynched by the public as the community believes that when things get better the group will resurge previously defected members will yet again kill and attack them. While theoretically rehabilitation and reintegration appear simple and a guaranteed solution to solving the insurgency; reconciliation is the most effective mode to ensure that stability and tension between neighbors are eradicated.

President Museveni said Uganda is providing some logistical support to Mozambique to fight the insurgents but noted if need be, UPDF would be deployed. He however said that despite that he would only send the troops to Cabo Delgado upon the resolution of the conflicts already in East Africa, especially in Somalia and DR Congo.

DRC

In DRC, human rights organizations have started pressuring the government to end the siege that has installed military rule in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces as the civilians have been experiencing numerous injustices. The siege that has been in place since last year has failed to achieve its purpose and as such partners have urged the government to explore alternative ways to end the senseless killing of civilians by the ever-evolving ISCAP.

A three-day joint UPDF-Congolese CT campaign led to the recapture of Mwenda village which is a strategic, logistical, and habitat for a huge ISCAP encampment. The operation was led by the 1st Battalion of Mountain Division that had been advancing towards Mwenda and reports indicate that at least 35 ISCAP militants were neutralized in the operations. Mwenda has been the home base for the militants since the November bombardments and the entry of the UPDF in Beni and as such the recapture is a significant achievement in the fight against the jihadists. Mwenda had become a haven for the militants and has been used to launch numerous attacks in Beni, North Kivu province, especially in the Rwenzori sector.

ISCAP has been kidnapping civilians after attacks and using them as human shields before killing them to evade the Congolese and Ugandan troops who have been conducting CT Ops in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces. ISCAP has been doubling back and attacking areas that have been liberated by the UPDF-FARDC alliance and civilians are returning home. This trend is worrying as it begs the question of the permanence of the gains made by the troops in fighting and defeating the insurgency.