Intensifying attacks by Islamic State-linked terrorists in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province have forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes in recent weeks. They also have contributed to a longer deployment for Rwandan troops.
Mozambique’s National Defense Minister Cristóvão Artur Chume and his Rwandan counterpart, Juvenal Marizamunda, signed a Status of Force Agreement in Kigali on August 27 to keep the Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) engaged in the fight against the affiliate group known as Islamic State-Mozambique (ISM).
“Our common threat in the region remains terrorism,” Cristóvão said during a prior August meeting between the parties to strengthen their security collaboration.
ISM in September led attacks across six districts, from Balama in the southwest of Cabo Delgado to Mocímboa da Praia in the northwest, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project (ACLED).
“ISM’s attack on civilians in Mocímboa da Praia town on September 7 is just the second such incursion since September 2021, indicating a high risk of future attacks in the town,” ACLED said in a September 17 update. “According to one report, fighters went door to door to identify victims.”
The brazen attack on one of Cabo Delgado’s largest towns, a key commercial and transportation hub on the coast of the Mozambique Channel, was part of a wave of coordinated movements by ISM militants.
On September 12, Mozambique Armed Forces (FADM) Commander Maj. Gen. André Rafael Mahunguane led a review with Rwandan Joint Task Force Commander Maj. Gen. Emmy Ruvusha in the provincial capital, Pemba.
“The meeting was held with the objective of assessing and exchanging views on the prevailing security situation in Cabo Delgado, focusing on the progress made by the RSF and FADM in stabilizing the northernmost areas that are most affected by terrorism,” Rwanda defense officials said. “Both parties agreed to intensify joint operations in order to maintain peace and stability in the region.”
ISM launched two-pronged attacks in the far north and south ends of Cabo Delgado in July. A group of about 60 fighters moved south into Ancuabe and Chiúre districts, meeting no resistance from Mozambique forces. It was ISM’s fourth incursion into the southern districts since the start of 2024.
“Continued movements and attacks by ISM in the north of the province indicate that the move to Chiúre was tactical rather than in flight,” ACLED wrote in its August 7 update. “As well as stretching the Mozambican military, a sustained propaganda campaign linked to the operation kept ISM in the public eye as a force in northern Mozambique.”
The situation marked a dramatic reversal from gains made in early 2024, when Rwandan forces helped flush most of the militants out of Cabo Delgado. ISM’s numbers reportedly plunged from a peak of 2,500 fighters to about 280, according to the United Nations.
About 1,000 Rwandan troops and police officers first deployed to Cabo Delgado in July 2021 to help contain the insurgency that has terrorized the country’s northernmost province since 2017.