Minister defends gas in 'just transition'; Cabo Ligado Weekly report

Welcome to Zitamar’s daily Mozambique briefing for 13 October 2022

Welcome to Zitamar’s daily Mozambique briefing for 13 October 2022. Today we feature the latest Cabo Ligado Weekly report on the conflict in northern Mozambique, as well as a curious story of a group suspected of using traditional dance as cover for travelling from central Mozambique to join the insurgency.

Also in today’s Briefing, alarming new figures on the number of people killed by snakes in Mozambique each year. Nationwide, it’s a bigger killer than human conflict and far more deadly than covid-19 — though malaria and TB remain far worse.

We’ll leave you for now with an excerpt from the Weekly Focus from today’s Cabo Ligado report, taking a detailed look at one aspect of the insurgency’s current modus operandi, focused on the Messalo River:

Much of the land through which the river passes is underdeveloped, with just two trunk roads running on a north-south axis through Macomia and Mueda districts. Consequently areas around the river which flows west to east provide cover from aerial surveillance and attack, as well as protection against land patrols.

Despite the destruction of two significant bases in the insurgents’ main bases of Siri 1 and Siri 2 in September 2021, these areas continue to provide sanctuary for groups falling back in the face of operations elsewhere, such as the prolonged operations in Katupa forest this year.

Click on the map infographic below for a link to the full report. We’ll be back tomorrow with the last Daily Briefing of the week.

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Agenda:

• Today: The justice ombudsman Isaque Chande presents his annual report to parliament

• Today-Saturday: Mozambique International Tourism Fair  FIKANI 2022 takes place

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The latest from Zitamar News:

Cabo Ligado Weekly: 3 October-9 October 2022

• Security forces’ operations increase pressure on insurgents in Nangade

• Insurgent groups concentrate in the forests around the Messalo river

• UNHCR says security situation “too volatile” for civilians to return to Cabo Delgado

Report also available in Portuguese

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Today’s headlines:

• Economy minister defends gas investments as part of just transition (Lusa, VOA)

• IS groups criticise Mozambique insurgents for extreme violence, CJI finds (CJI)

• Snakebites kill 9,000 Mozambicans a year, study finds (The Conversation)

• Manica police intercept suspected insurgency recruits (Lusa, Integrity Magazine)

Today’s front pages in Maputo. Photo © Faizal Chauque / Zitamar News