Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi is usually wary of foreign military intervention. But the grim situation in Cabo Delgado seems to have forced his hand. Last week, Rwanda began deploying a 1,000-strong [9] police and military force to the insurgency-hit northern province. And troops from the Southern African Development Community [10] regional bloc are also set to arrive in the coming days [17]. Some reports [11] suggest the Rwandans will set up around the Afungi peninsula, where a multi-billion dollar gas project is located. Their battlefield enemy—known locally as al-Shabab [12]—is formidable and entrenched, as Mozambique's army and its mercenary [13] allies [14] know well. Lost in the military chatter is much mention of Cabo Delgado's worsening humanitarian crisis: More than 700,000 people have been uprooted—68,000 since late March—and close to a million [15] are now facing severe hunger.
From The New Humanitarian [18], July 16
Note: Russia's paramilitary Wagner Group [19] has also been sent in [20] to Cabo Delgado, beating South African private military firms to the contract. (Moscow Times [13])
