The Islamic State (IS) announced on 29 March that it has seized the coastal town of Palma in northern Mozambique following five days of armed conflicts that began Wednesday, rendering dozens killed or wounded. The second day of the attack was horrifying as thousands of residents of Palma and the surrounding areas were forced to flee their homes using any means of transportation in sight. According to eyewitness accounts, countless displaced people fled the area on foot because they had no mode of transportation to escape the despicable horrors that erupted all of a sudden.
Palma, a coastal city located in the Muslim-majority Cabo Delgado province and bordering Tanzania to the north, has been enduring terrorist attacks since 2017 after Al-Shabaab militant group – a splinter group of Ansar Al-Sunna formed in 2007 – managed to reorganize and restructure its leadership to become a terrorist organization capable of conducting armed terror. The group adopts a toxic extremist ideology and forms broad tactical alliances with organized criminal groups. In 2019, Al-Shabaab pledged its allegiance to IS, introducing itself to the “jihadist groups” as an IS-affiliate in East Africa.
The militant group had spearheaded several terrorist attacks that didn’t mostly expand beyond its most active area of operation, i.e. northern Mozambique. Behaving with the mentality of terrorist groups in Africa, Al-Shabaab benefited from the vulnerability of borders to move freely, maneuver, and escape the security forces’ manhunts that have been increasing after Al-Shabaab’s assault on three police stations in Mocimboa da Praia, a coastal city 50 miles south of Palma, in Cabo Delgado province which the militant group had taken control of. In August 2020, the group managed to take over the port of Mocimboa da Praia, which is strategically important for transporting food, supplies, and necessities for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) operations in the area which the militant group seized and doesn’t seem intent on leaving soon.
Al-Shabaab’s recent attack on Palma was a three-pronged simultaneous attack. The attackers blazed the entire village after looting crops, animals, and properties in a scene that is “not unusual” in Africa. Testimonies given by escapees speak of militants “beheading” citizens to strike terror into the hearts of the population besides kidnappings of young people; thus, instilling fear in families causing them to escape their homes in order not to be held captive. These vicious attacks continued for days before militants started targeting military barracks and government facilities to seize control of the entire city. Foreign and local gas workers, mostly from the French Total, sought refuge in Amarula Palma Hotel which soon came under the siege of Islamist militants to find themselves trapped in the hotel – an optimum hostage situation for Al-Shabaab. The fate of the expatriate gas workers remains unknown in the absence of an official response from the state to reveal its next step given this important development.
The Islamist militants’ takeover the port of Mocimboa da Praia was a critical step but not at all comparable to seizing the very strategic Palma, which is only 10 km away from the mega gas project that is the biggest foreign investment in Africa which the country was placing enormous expectations upon. The project which has come under terrorist attacks since 2019, is being run by Total for its own benefit and the benefit of Mozambique and other international partners. As is often the case with such investments, investors seek achieving long-term returns after large initial spending. A central paradox here is that the last intense attack was launched only hours after Total announced it will resume construction in the LNG project, located a few kilometers from Palma. Against the backdrop of this attack, Augusto Santos Silva, the Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced that Portugal has decided to send troops to support Mozambique, a former colony of Portugal that still maintains phenomenal relations with the government in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.
The situation in Palma is complicated and uncertain. IS taking full control of Palma (with an estimated population of 75,000) will not be folding the tent. The fate of the population as well as expatriate and foreign workers is hanging in the balance. Witnesses and video footage told of beheaded corpses on the beach. Hundreds of civilians sought to flee the hell of terrorism by sea using fishing boats. Fleeing citizens took cover on the beach on Friday night until they were evacuated on Saturday morning. Hectic rescue efforts proceeded around the clock until Sunday evening. These boats headed to Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado province which is 250 km south of Palma, carrying thousands of escapees (one boat had reportedly 1,500 persons on board). Humanitarian agencies, with limited resources and in a high-risk environment, have been actively providing different kinds of aid to rescue as many lives as possible before civilians fall into the grip of Islamist militants whose actions are based on IS ideology – inflicting brutal torture to spread terror on a larger scale.
The displacement of civilians due to exposure to extreme danger is another problem as it sets the stage for Islamist militants allowing little to no intervention from the government or civil society. This plays in the hands of Al-Shabaab militants. The situation could deteriorate, allowing IS to expand and grow along a relatively long coastline, let alone the possibility of establishing control over gas and oil facilities in the area. These are factors that paint a gloomy picture and a risky situation that can end in a catastrophe.
This article was originally published in Ad-Dostor newspaper, 31 March, 2021.
