Mozambique opposition leaders call for dialogue with Cabo Delgado rebels

MAPUTO, Mozambique

The Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), the country’s third largest parliamentary political force, on Friday called for dialogue with the rebel groups that have been carrying out attacks in Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique.

“There has to be dialogue, the government has to use the intelligence that is available to it to locate these individuals and establish contacts,” said MDM leader Lutero Simango, speaking to the media in the city of Beira, Sofala province, in the centre of the country.

For the MDM leader, the situation in the northern province of Mozambique is “worrying” and the government should endeavour to understand the real motivations of these groups.

“The government has the capacity to find out the motives of these terrorists and, as a result, establish a line of contact (…). We cannot continue with this situation, strategies must be created to normalise the lives of the public in Cabo Delegado province and, at the end of the day, guarantee the integrity of Mozambican sovereignty,” he said.

On Wednesday, the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), the main opposition party, also demanded that the government enter into “dialogue” with the groups responsible for armed attacks in Cabo Delgado, pointing to the “incapacity” of the armed forces to stop the violence.

Cabo Delgado province has been facing attacks claimed by the self-styled Islamic State (IS) for six years, which has led to a military response since July 2021, with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts near gas projects.

In recent weeks, according to official figures, a new wave of attacks has caused a total of 67,321 people to flee their homelands, incursions justified by the Mozambican executive as the result of the “movement of small groups of terrorists” who left their camp (…) towards the south of Cabo Delgado.