According to Omar Saranga, coordinator of the North Operational Theatre at the Mozambican Armed Defence Forces, dozens of insurgents were exterminated during an operation at the rebels’ main camp in Macomia, in the northern Cabo Delgado region.
The Catupa base, which the militants thought to be a crucial location, was also raided by the Mozambican army, with radios and computer components were taken.
Journalists were also informed by government authorities that a young man who claimed to be an insurgent security guard had turned himself in.
“He is an example of those Mozambicans [who are with the rebels] to whom we appeal whenever they surrender to our forces. As you can see, he is not mistreated. He has one of his arms amputated, but this was done by one of the jihadists,” Col Saranga said.
Since 2017, rebels have attacked Cabo Delgado. About 4,000 people have died and nearly 900,000 people have been displaced as a result of this violence thus far.
The insurgency in Cabo Delgado refers to the insurgency in the region of East Africa and the ongoing conflict in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique, mainly fought amongst insurgents attempting to establish an Islamic state in the region, and Mozambican security forces.
Civilians have been the main targets of terrorist attacks by insurgents. The main insurgent faction is Ansar al-Sunna, a native extremist faction with tenuous international connections. From mid-2018, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has allegedly become active in northern Mozambique as well, and claimed its first attack against Mozambican security forces in June 2019.