Tanzania and Mozambique have entered into an agreement that will allow joint forces to fight the growing insurgency in the Mozambican border province of Cabo Delgado. The MOU was signed by their respective police chiefs during a meeting in Mtwara in Tanzania which was recently attacked alongside several other border villages.
The police chiefs announced that the two countries would engage in joint operations and exchange information on happenings on either side of the border seeing as the terror organization has roots, recruits, fighters, and sympathizers in both countries. Additionally, as part of the deal, over 500 suspected militants arrested in Tanzania will be extradited to Mozambique.
The agreement comes a month after suspected Mozambican jihadists staged a daring cross-border raid in Tanzania and killed an unknown number of people. The insurgents terrorizing Mozambique’s gas-rich Cabo Delgado province have in recent months intensified a violent campaign to establish an Islamic caliphate, which has now spilled north into Tanzania. Additionally, Tanzanian authorities recently arrested jihadists from various parts of the country who were traveling to Mozambique to join ISCAP.
The joint collaboration is a welcome COIN strategy as it will aid in the fortification of the porous Rovuma border that has been identified as an entry point for foreign fighters seeking to join ISCAP in Mozambique. The MOU will allow for both nations to conduct CT operations against the group from both sides of the border and as such the first steps in defeating the 3-year-old insurgency in Cabo Delgado.
