Jihadist fighters in Cabo Delgado are rebooting their campaign on land and sea as a row over cash could end Rwanda’s security operations
When France’s TotalEnergies resumed work on its US$25 billion gas project on Afungi in January, it was taken as a challenge by the jihadist insurgents based in the mountains bordering Tanzania and beyond the Niassa national reserve in Northern Mozambique. To press their demands, the insurgents have adapted their tactics, using highly mobile small boats to launch maritime attacks, heightening risks for offshore natural gas platforms in the Rovuma Basin and for vessels sailing through the Mozambique Channel, which stretches for some 1,700 kilometres between the mainland and Madagascar.