Armed insurgents operating in northern Mozambique have intensified recruitment efforts and are showing clear signs of pushing their operations southwards, taking advantage of irregular human migration routes across East and Southern Africa to rebuild their forces.
According to findings in the 38th report from the United Nations (UN) Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team on Islamic State and Al-Qaeda entities, the militant group Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamaa has expanded its active ranks to between 400 and 500 combatants. The group, which operates as the primary Islamic State affiliate in the region, has managed to bolster its personnel despite sustained counter-insurgency operations carried out by Mozambican forces and regional military partners.
UN monitors noted that the group mounted an aggressive recruitment drive over the first quarter of the year. By exploiting informal migration corridors, the militants are seeking to establish new footholds well beyond their established strongholds in Cabo Delgado province and extend their reach into the southern parts of the country.
The resurgence brings to light the evolving threat in northern Mozambique, where fighters continue to adapt their tactics through mobile raids, highway ambushes, and resource exploitation.
Despite an ongoing multinational military presence, the group’s ability to tap into cross-border networks and regional recruitment pipelines presents a persistent threat to civilian safety, regional stability, and major infrastructure development across the country.
–ChannelAfrica–
