Cabo Ligado Update: 5 — 18 May 2025

May 21

Written By Cabo Ligado

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By the numbers

Data highlights in Cabo Delgado province (5 - 18 May 2025)

At least 3 political violence events (2,082 in total since 1 October 2017)
At least 13 reported fatalities from political violence (6,007 since 1 October 2017)
At least 2 reported civilian fatalities (2,506 since 1 October 2017)
At least 5 political violence events involving ISM across Mozambique (1,915 since 1 October 2017)

Islamic State Mozambique (ISM) was active from Niassa province in the west to Cabo Delgado’s coastal waters to the east, killing at least 16 people. In Niassa province, the group remained in Mecula district, where it killed three members of security forces in a clash. In Cabo Delgado’s Muidumbe district, ISM killed 11 Defense Armed Forces of Mozambique (FADM) soldiers in the year's deadliest incident. In coastal waters off Mocímboa da Praia, members of the group in two boats pursued a Russian marine survey vessel in an apparent kidnap attempt. The vessel had been operating approximately 30 kilometers offshore.

Situation Summary

Three killed in insurgent ambush in Niassa

Islamic State-backed insurgents continued their campaign in Niassa province while sustaining offensive activity over 250 km away, in the districts of Muidumbe and Mocímboa da Praia in Cabo Delgado province.

On 12 May, insurgents kidnapped at least seven people in the village of Macalange, about 20 km north of Mecula town in Niassa, and demanded that locals cook for them. The seven hostages were later freed. According to one source, villagers claimed that locals were among the insurgents.

The next day, security forces were drawn into an ambush around Macalange and at least three were killed, including a park ranger helping track the insurgents. On 14 May, at least four soldiers were also wounded and evacuated to Mecula hospital, where one later died, according to a local source. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, saying ISM had killed three, wounded others, and seized weapons.

These incidents follow the attacks on the Mariri educational center in Niassa on 29 April and the Kambako safari hunting lodge on the Cabo Delgado province side of the Niassa Special Reserve on 19 April. A collection of conservation concessions in the special reserve, including Mariri and Kambako, warned in a statement that more than 1,000 jobs could be lost, conservation efforts threatened, and community supports undermined, unless the government does more to restore security to the area.

Insurgent attack leaves 11 soldiers dead

Meanwhile, in the Muidumbe district of Cabo Delgado, insurgents launched their deadliest attack of the year on a Mozambican army outpost in the village of Primeiro de Maio around 8 May, killing 11 soldiers, according to the IS newspaper al-Naba. Other sources confirm an attack in the area, with one claiming that at least nine members of the police and military were taken for treatment to Pemba Provincial Hospital. IS also shared a photo of a large pile of weapons allegedly seized in the attack that included many assault rifles, four light machine guns, at least seven rocket-propelled grenade launchers, mortars, and other equipment such as phones and solar panels.

Around 30 km north of Primeiro de Maio, also in Muidumbe, insurgents emerged in the fields near the village of Magaia on 11 May and kidnapped six girls and two boys. The two boys were later confirmed dead, one girl managed to escape, and the other five remain missing, according to local sources.

To the south, in Macomia district, insurgents passing near the village of Nguida on 7 May, less than 20 km from Macomia town, sparked panic across surrounding communities. On 12 May, insurgents appeared in the village of Sitate, in Meluco district. Al Naba reported that insurgents delivered a lecture to locals on Shariah.

Russian ship shot at by insurgents off the coast of Mocímboa da Praia

On 10 May, the Russian hydrographic survey ship Atlantida came under fire from insurgents near Tambuzi island in Mocímboa da Praia district. The ship signalled distress, the MozTimes news site reported, but managed to escape undamaged. The Atlantida had arrived in Maputo on 17 March for a scientific mission with Mozambique’s National Institute of Oceanography.

In the city of Palma, heavier than usual helicopter activity was reported on 16 May, creating alarm in the town. Cabo Ligado could not identify the reason for this increased traffic.

Tensions remain between the authorities and residents of Balama who had forced the closure of the Syrah Resources-owned Twigg graphite mine over a land dispute. Locals have accused police of detaining and torturing protesters following an operation on 2 May to reopen the mine, allegedly involving armoured vehicles, O País reported. Protests had been ongoing at the site since September 2024, forcing the company to stop production and declare force majeure.

Focus: Insurgents at sea

The attack on the Atlantida indicates ISM’s confidence in nearshore operations — those in littoral waters — and reflects its increasing presence in Cabo Delgado’s nearshore waters. The incident suggests a willingness and capacity to go beyond a concentration on looting and hostage taking. The incident also highlights the persistent shortfall in maritime security, particularly in Mocimboa da Praia’s nearshore waters.

ISM activity in nearshore waters off Cabo Delgado increased significantly in 2024. ACLED records three maritime events involving ISM in 2023, when its overall activity slumped across the province. However, 23 maritime events were recorded in 2024, and 12 so far in 2025. Of 2024's events, 12 of them were off Mocímboa da Praia or southern Palma district. Eight events recorded so far in 2025 have been off Mocímboa da Praia, and four off Macomia. This comes as commercial traffic to Mocímboa da Praia’s small port is increasing, with at least three ships serving Mocímboa da Praia with cabotage services now, according to a Zitamar News report. Some of this cargo is destined for the liquefied natural gas site in Palma district and continues its journey there by road with a Rwandan military escort.

FADM has the capacity to patrol Mocímboa da Praia's coastal waters. In April 2024, it received a number of high-speed patrol boats from the departing Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique. Rwandan forces have similar capacity, according to sources. However, the concentration of maritime activity in Mocímboa da Praia suggests that any current patrolling is ineffective.

There are conflicting reports about the type of vessel ISM used in the attack. Initial reports stated that the Atlantida was shot at from two high-speed boats pursuing it. However, Cabo Ligado sources in the area have never mentioned ISM using high-speed boats. IS has never released images of insurgents using such boats, only ordinary nearshore fishing vessels. Another source reported that the boats used were a fishing boat with an unusually large engine, accompanied by a small rubber boat. Meanwhile, the administrator of Mocímboa da Praia, Sérgio Cipriano, claims the attackers used a type of fishing boat donated to fishing communities by TotalEnergies and subsequently stolen by the insurgents.

ISM is active at sea primarily to sustain itself. Capturing supplies and ransoming captured boats and sailors dominates the group’s nearshore actions. In 2024 almost half of ISM's marine activity was of this nature. For 2025, 10 of the 12 events ACLED records so far involve looting or abduction.

The attack on the Atlantida will worry shippers, as well as offshore petroleum operators. However, its presence in an area most ships avoid raises questions around the ship’s mission. According to the Russian embassy in Maputo, the ship was working with Mozambique’s National Oceanographic Institute to undertake “acoustic and trawling studies to assess biological resources.” Russia uses fishing and oceanographic vessels for spying purposes in Europe. Given the concentration of European interests in northern Mozambique, suspicions about the Atlantida’s activities cannot be discounted.

Roundup

Daniel Chapo visits Tanzania

Mozambican President Daniel Chapo undertook a three-day state visit to Tanzania on 7 May. Official communiqués about the visit from Mozambique and Tanzania did not mention security cooperation and instead focused on wider economic issues. The main output of the visit was the establishment of a Joint Economic Commission between the two countries to stimulate trade and investment. One immediate priority for the two countries is the construction of a one-stop border post at the Negomano-Mtambaswala border crossing.

Security was certainly on the agenda for Chapo, given the ongoing Tanzania People’s Defence Force deployment in Nangade district under a bilateral agreement signed in September 2022. Chapo also visited Zanzibar, where he met with President Hussein Mwinyi, and also had an unpublicized meeting with Sheikh Saleh Omar Kabi, the grand mufti of Zanzibar. Recruitment by non-state armed groups in the region, including from Mozambique, has been a long-standing issue in Zanzibar.

District courts reopen in five Cabo Delgado districts

Courts in the Cabo Delgado districts of Palma, Mocímboa da Praia, Nangade, Macomia and Meluco have reopened after Mozambique’s Judicial Council decided that security conditions had improved sufficiently. The courts had been relocated to other parts of the province due to the insurgent attacks in those areas. The council also decided that the courts in the districts of Quissanga, Muidumbe, Ibo, and Metuge should start operating.

Police reactivate community security councils in Mocímboa da Praia

The Police of the Republic of Mozambique have decided to reactivate community security councils in the district of Mocímboa da Praia due to the increase in insurgent activity, according to provincial police spokesman Aniceto Magome. Such councils have helped reduce criminal activity in other districts in Cabo Delgado, he said.

Rwandan and Mozambican commanders discuss strategy in Mueda

The commander of the Rwanda Security Forces in Mozambique, Major General Emmy Ruvusha, met the chief of the general staff of FADM General Julio dos Santos Jane, in Mueda in Cabo Delgado on 9 May to discuss “new strategies” to fight the insurgency, the Rwanda Defence Force said in a statement. General dos Santos Jane commended the Rwandans for the “job being done in restoring peace and stability in the northern part of Mozambique.”

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