Why can’t Mozambique secure Cabo Delgado province?
Offshore gas workers among 200 trapped by ISIL-linked fighters.
A hotel has become the latest flashpoint in a long-running conflict in northern Mozambique.
ISIL-linked fighters besieged the town of Palma on Wednesday, forcing nearly 200 people to seek refuge in a resort.
Many are foreign nationals working on a natural gas project owned by Total, which only announced a resumption of operations a few hours before the attack.
The latest assault by the al-Shabab armed group (not related to the Somali group of the same name) highlights increasing instability in the gas-rich Cabo Delgado province.
So why has the Mozambican government failed to contain the unrest?
Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom
Guests:
Zenaida Machado – Senior researcher, Human Rights Watch
Jasmine Opperman – Senior researcher, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project
Fernando Lima – Journalist and political commentator