Mozambique: ‘I watched extremists behead my neighbor’

The Telegraph thinks that the Mozambican government is using the Islamic State jihadis to help it gain control of the oil and gas reserves. And while that may be the case, it is nonetheless wrong to conclude: “I don’t think it’s Islam telling people to destroy villagers and kill people.” Islam does indeed call for violent expansion and the killing of its foes (cf. Qur’an 2:191, 4:89, 9:5, 47:4, etc.). The Telegraph, of course, being in the UK, does its best to conceal the reality of jihad.

“When you meet the unbelievers, strike the necks…” (Qur’an 47:4)

“‘I watched extremists behead my neighbour’: Inside Mozambique’s ISIS terror battleground,” by Kang-Chun Cheng, Telegraph, August 23, 2024:

…In October 2017, an armed group called Ansar al-Sunna, also known as Al-Shabaab (though it bears no relation to the Somali jihadist group of the same name), emerged in northern Mozambique.

Now called Islamic State Mozambique (ISM), its roots stem from East African Salafi-jihadist networks that began to infiltrate Cabo Delgado as early as 2007. Its main leaders, Tanzanian Abu Yassir Hassan and Muamudo Saha, were radical, young Salafists – puritanical Islamists who promote a rigid interpretation of the Quran.

ISM quickly became known for its cold-blooded use of violence, carrying out numerous massacres targeting civilians, many of them the same destitute farmers and fishers it claims to be fighting for.

Hardened ISIS fighters arrived in 2018 to support the group’s effort to establish a caliphate in Cabo Delgado, according to the African Union. And by late 2019, the Islamic State’s Somalian splinter group was providing tactical training and channelling funds to Mozambique. Thanks to this support, ISM seized the cities of Mocimboa da Praia and Palma, targeting urban centres across five northern districts, and driving out the army.

The insurgency received global attention in March 2021 after its attack on Palma, the site of the $20 billion liquified natural gas (LNG) project by TotalEnergies, ENI, and Exxon. There were at least 1,402 victims, including 1,193 killed or missing, and 209 kidnapped. In the aftermath, Total halted the project, invoking force majeure, and despite periodic statements about resuming operations in early 2024, it remains stalled….

Filipe Nyusi, the Mozambican President, has refused to acknowledge the socioeconomic drivers of the conflict in Cabo Delgado and has instead doubled down on the extremism narrative.

Mr Nyusi has remained committed to countering the insurgency with force, even though it quickly became clear that the Mozambican army is no match for the highly capable insurgents….

Ms Yasini doesn’t buy the government’s claims that they’re doing everything they can to stamp out the insurgency.

She doesn’t believe that the insurgents are acting alone, or fighting because of the gas project.

“I don’t think it’s Islam telling people to destroy villagers and kill people,” she says. “The government is behind all this – they told the insurgents to go into the bushes when they could have come up with jobs and explained what this gas project could mean for us.”…