Palma is a small town in northern Mozambique with about 75,000 inhabitants. It is only about 25 kilometers from the border with Tanzania, and people make their living from the local fishing industry. So, it is a small town, which we don’t expect anyone had ever read about in the international media. On the afternoon of March 24, 2021, however, this supposed tranquility came to an end, and Palma became the sad culmination of what has been going on in northern Mozambique for about 3 years. During the afternoon, an armed group with links to the Islamic State descended on the little town. In the days that followed, they shot and beheaded at least 90 people. The reports, photos, and videos from Palma are terrifying. “We saw a 14-year-old boy going on his first mission. There he was, happy as anything, describing how he had killed people,” one woman reports. She is one of 23 women held captive by the rebel groups – also known locally as ‘machababos’ – and managed to escape. Their testimony gives a profound insight into the group of attackers who have been terrorizing the Cabo Delgado province for three years.

Cabo Delgado is Mozambique’s northernmost province, around 1,500 km from the capital Maputo in the far south. For years, the extreme north was of little interest to the Mozambican government. The region has high youth unemployment, 67% of people are unable to read or write, and the lack of prospects makes it easy for Islamist recruiters to attract young people. Public discontent with the government in Maputo has been fueled by the discovery of huge gas deposits off the coast of the region – the largest gas deposits in Africa – while the profits from the supposed boom go mainly to foreign companies such as the French Total Group and the ruling party, Frelimo. As a result, there are no real job opportunities for young people in the area. It is also fairly clear how the government is reacting to the years of attacks in Cabo Delgado – the gas companies are promised protection, and attempts are made to bring the conflict under control with mercenary groups, such as the notorious Russian Wagner Group or, most recently, the South African Dyck Advisory Group. The local population tends to be left out of the deliberations. The ruling party Frelimo sees the civil war in Cabo Delgado as a threat to its ‘business model’ in relation to the natural gas deals. This also explains why the government labels the attackers as foreign members of the so-called IS, with whom negotiation would be impossible. Independent journalists are expelled, as happened recently with the British journalist Tom Bowker, who was one of the few to report on the situation’s complexity and expose the government’s failings. In recent years, it has also become difficult for national journalists to report on the situation in Cabo Delgado. Aid organizations are no longer issued visas, and the government has even put delays in the path of the EU observer mission. The idea of foreign aid is attractive, but only in financial form and not through independent observers or foreign troops who might point out the government’s failings. Mozambicans are also astonished at how much time it took for President Filipe Nyusi, who was himself born in Cabo Delgado, to comment on the attacks.

The recent brutal attacks in Palma have shown that the current approach offers no solution. From October 2017, when the attacks began, until the end of May 2021, there have been almost 900 assaults, in which 2,852 people have died. Over 714,000 people are now internally displaced persons (IDPs). Since last year, the so-called IS has been claiming responsibility for the violence, as it did for the attack in Palma. However, the photos and videos produced as evidence were demonstrably older. From the above-mentioned interviews with the women who fled, it is clear that – contrary to what the government claims – most of those responsible were not foreigners but young men from the region. According to the women, the perpetrators are driven less by Islam than by frustration with the government and financial greed. Those interviewed assumed that the only foreigners involved were the leaders of the terrorist militia, who are mostly male and well-educated, mainly from Tanzania. They belong to the originally Somali al-Shabaab militia. The group taps into the anger of the disaffected youth in Cabo Delgado and fuels resentment towards the ‘faithless government in Maputo’ and the ‘thieving’ foreign gas companies.

The lack of prospects and the feeling among the young people in Cabo Delgado that they are forgotten is one of the most important starting points for a lasting solution to the conflict. For Paula Macave, the national coordinator of terre des hommes schweiz in Mozambique, youth unemployment is the most pressing issue. That is why local projects are supporting young people to develop their own economic prospects through organic farming or training. We also provide sexual health education, as early marriages and teenage pregnancies are a big problem, especially in rural Mozambique. There seems to be development in the conflict elsewhere as well: Portugal is to send troops, and the USA and France have also promised support. According to Paula Macave, the pressure exerted by the African Union on the Mozambican government to finally allow external support could make a positive difference. The Catholic Church is also openly addressing the problems that have caused the conflict. It likewise criticizes the government: ‘The Church wants young people to lead a different life than the one they are leading now. That is why we are encouraging people, especially the younger generation, to cultivate their hopes and dreams and work to realize them.’

Therefore, our conclusion is fairly clear: there will only be a long-term peaceful solution if external aid is allowed in, if independent journalists are again able to report on the situation in Cabo Delgado and if the government takes the needs of the people seriously. Furthermore, peace will only be possible if the poorer sections of the population also benefit from the vast resources that are exported and if young people in the country are given real prospects. This is what we work on with our partners every day.