Mozambique’s main opposition party, the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO), has accused the country’s president, Filipe Nyusi, of being «responsible by omission» for the worsening insecurity in Cabo Delgado province (north), hit since 2017 by a spike in jihadist attacks.
Elias Dhlakama, brother of the late leader of the former rebel group, Afonso Dhlakama, has stressed that for RENAMO «there is no doubt that the president must be held responsible by omission for failing to call on international aid in time.»
He called for the opening of an investigation to establish responsibility for the counter-terrorism campaign and accused Nyusi of «dragging his feet» when asking for help from the international community.
«The government allowed part of Mozambique’s territory to remain out of the hands of the state,» said the RENAMO deputy, who emphasized that this demonstrates «an accumulation of incompetence» on the part of the authorities, as reported by the Portuguese news agency Lusa.
The opposition Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) has also joined the criticism, stressing that «there was confusion and chaos in the defense policy». He also denounced that «the people of Cabo Delgado are exhausted and do not tolerate any more suffering».
Silvério Ronguane, MDM deputy, also warned that, despite the improvement of security in the areas where the troops of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Rwandan special forces are deployed, violence has spread to other previously safe areas.
For its part, the governmental Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) has defended that «the fight against terrorism will be a success». Congresswoman Ana Chapo has reiterated that the displaced are beginning to return and that basic services will be restored.
In fact, the Mozambican Minister of Defense, Cristovao Chume, assured on Tuesday that the jihadist groups «do not have permanent bases» in the province of Cabo Delgado, before indicating that the jihadists are divided into small groups that have lost their positions due to the operations of the security forces.
Cabo Delgado has been the scene since October 2017 of attacks carried out by Islamist militiamen known as Al Shabaab, unrelated to the homonymous group operating in Somalia, which maintains ties with Al Qaeda. Since mid-2019 they have been mostly claimed by ISCA, which has stepped up its actions since March 2020.
