Tanzania has launched an inquiry into the involvement of its citizens believed to be radical and making up a large portion if ISCAP in Mozambique’s restive province of Cabo Delgado. Intelligence has revealed that ISCAP has a large number of Tanzanians within its ranks commonly evidenced by the Swahili-speaking jihadists in the online propaganda media.
In April a was video released on social media platforms, unidentified jihadists issued direct threats to the Tanzanian government and Christians indicating the country may soon suffer security risks in the coming days. A visibly poor video shot at undisclosed located, the jihadists are threatening Tanzanian leadership starting with the President and the Christian community saying that they are the way coming for them. The leader speaking in the video boasted that they were in the land of Jihad out of their own volition and that they had not been paid anything meaning.
While Tanzania previously deployed troops to her border with Mozambique to fortify security along the porous border it has proven inadequate as the jihadists have crossed over and are active in Cabo Delgado.
The High Commissioner of Tanzania in Mozambique Rajab Luhwavi has asserted that it is necessary to unite the defense and security forces of both countries to combat terrorism at the borders. Tanzania has been a hub for jihadists with various affiliations and it would be risky for Tanzania to fail to band up with Mozambique in fighting ISCAP. The presence of Tanzanian nationals within the ranks of ISCAP offers motivation for both the hundreds of online Tanzanian youths who’ve shown sympathy and willing to join other jihadists fronting attacks against the government of Tanzania. If Tanzania fails to take the necessary swift and rigorous COIN strategies, ISCAP could cross over back to conduct attacks home as was observed in the case of al Shabaab in Kenya and Somalia.
