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They got off the bus all smiles, carrying their belongings at arm’s length. On June 9, 123 residents of Mocimboa da Praia were allowed to resettle in the small port city in the far northeast of Mozambique. Coming from the Quitunda displaced persons camp, 80 km to the north, they are the first to return since the locality was retaken from the Chabab Islamist insurgents by the Mozambican armed forces and their Rwandan ally, in August 2021. But the city that they have known has disappeared or almost.
Charred coconut palms, walls riddled with bullet holes, burnt shops, vehicles abandoned by the dozen and reduced to the state of carcasses… The fighting left Mocimboa da Praia bloodless. Although men in overalls have been busy since the beginning of June to clean the streets and straighten out what can be, the whole city is bathed in an atmosphere of the end of the world. The church appears to have been attacked with heavy weapons. Administrative buildings, gas stations, the main mosque, schools and banks were completely destroyed.
Before becoming the main stronghold of the Chababs, Mocimboa da Praia was the symbol of their growing hold over the province of Cabo Delgado. The small port town is located halfway on the coastal road that goes from Pemba, the economic lung of Cabo Delgado, to Palma, which is home to the huge Afungi gas project, of which TotalEnergies is the main promoter. “A practical city, a northern crossroads, with resources, solid houses, an airport and a port essential for business », summarizes Rwandan Lieutenant-Colonel Vincent Ntazinda, who now ensures the security of part of the city.
Everything will have to be rebuilt
The insurgents have long benefited from relays and support in Mocimboa da Praia. Several Chabab fighters, including one of the group’s main leaders, Bonomade Machude Omar (alias “ Ibn Omar”), are from the city. This is where they made themselves known, on October 5, 2017, by storming several police stations. And it is from this rear base that they extended their actions, cutting the roads and emptying the villages.
After several incursion attempts, Mocimboa da Praia fell completely under the control of the jihadists in August 2020. Seven months later, the city of Palma, 80 km further north, fell in turn. An all-out push that threw nearly 800,000 inhabitants of Cabo Delgado onto the roads.
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