Security has been restored in around 90% of Cabo Delgado province, said a Mozambique army commander, who argued that there are conditions for the return of private companies, including French oil company Total
“I would say that at this moment we are at 90% of total clarification”, said Tiago Nampele, at a press conference, on Tuesday, in Mocímboa da Praia, in Cabo Delgado, in the North of Mozambique. According to the commander, the rebels were spread across the districts of Palma, Nangade, Quissanga, Macomia, Muidumbe and Mocímboa da Praia, but are now concentrated “in a single point”.
“The forces on the ground at this moment fully guarantee that companies can return, especially Total”, added Tiago Nampele. TotalEnergies leads the Area 1 consortium, an investment of around 20 billion euros for gas exploration in Cabo Delgado.
The works were suspended indefinitely, following an armed attack on Palma, in March 2021, when the French energy company declared that it would only resume work when the area was safe.
Tiago Nampele indicated that government forces are now deploying to reinforce security in the coastal area of the province. “We are designing yet another operation, which is to place our troops along the coast with a single objective: to deny terrorists access to the sea.
What we realized is that the logistics come from the sea side”, he added. The province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed insurgency for six years with attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State and its affiliates.
The insurgency led to a military response, supported, since July 2021, by Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community, which allowed the liberation of districts close to gas projects, with new isolated waves of attacks emerging in the south of region and in the neighboring province of Nampula.
The conflict has already displaced one million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.
