Biera, Monday

Government troops are taking up positions outside a port in the far north of Mozambique which was captured by Islamist extremists last week in the latest escalation of the insurgency in the southern African country.

Hundreds of reinforcements have been rushed into position around the port in the town of Mocímboa da Praia.

The facility, which is close to the site of natural gas projects worth about $60bn (£45bn), fell on Tuesday when marines who had resisted several hundred militants ran out of ammunition and were forced to withdraw.

The Mozambican defence minister, Jaime Neto, said last week the extremists had infiltrated parts of Mocímboa da Praia and then “attacked the town from the inside out, causing destruction, looting and the murder of defenceless citizens”, according to a report from the Zitamar news agency.

The attack was the latest in a series launched on the town by a group known as Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamaa, which pledged allegiance to Islamic State last year.

The extremist operation took place over several days, with early attacks closing off roads leading to the town by eliminating government defensive posts, before a final assault.

“This involved the largest concentration of insurgents we have ever seen, was sophisticated and was clearly planned for some time.

It’s a success and an embarrassment for the government, but they are extremely vulnerable at the moment,” said Jasmine Opperman, a South African analyst who has followed the intensifying conflict in northern Mozambique.

Government setback

The government has suffered a series of setbacks in its efforts to roll back the extremists’ advance.

An Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamaa force briefly occupied the centre of Mocímboa da Praia in March, burning government facilities including a barracks and brandishing banners of affiliation to Isis.

The militants raided a second town and badly damaged the district police headquarters. They too carried an Isis flag.

Other raids have met with limited resistance. As many as 55 government soldiers, mainly recent recruits being transported in open trucks, died in a well-prepared ambush last week on an approach road to Mocímboa da Praia as authorities sought to reinforce the garrison in the town.

Local security forces suffer from poor training, minimal equipment and low morale. Recent attempts to reinforce them with expensive foreign mercenaries do not appear to have been effective.

At least 150 Russians linked to the Wagner Group, a company that has supplied mercenaries to fight in several African countries, were deployed last year but were forced to withdraw after suffering significant casualties.

Dyck Advisory Group, a South Africa-based private security firm currently employed in the north of Mozambique, has also struggled to make any significant impact.

Its handful of light helicopters were based too far from Mocímboa da Praia to intervene effectively. – Agencies