Page 54 - World Airnews Magazine March 2020 Edition

MILITARY MILITARY

fault: the Russians too were totally "out of on one of thousands of granite high points part of Africa.

their depth" in fighting Jihadis, “and that in scattered throughout the region. For instance, a journey from Pemba,

spite of being completely air dominant,” he Ellis’s immediate perception was that the oil and gas port on the coast (to the

told a colleague their commanders had done very little immediate east of the area where much of

Earlier, after Wagner had arrived in East groundwork…the Rovuma might have been the fighting has taken place) to the Lugenda
Africa, veteran African mercenary aviator a new brand of toothpaste and of course River, a tributary of the Rovuma which
Neall Ellis told me that he doubted whether their patrols would be faced with lion and forms the border with Mozambique (a dis-
the Russians would be able to cope in Mo- leopard on night patrols on land and a mul- tance of roughly 350 kilometres) can take

zambique’s harsh environment and where titude of crocs and hippo in every river and between 10 and 12 hours in an SUV in the

flying is often fraught by weather, bad stream, both of which result in fatalities dry season and twice that when it is wet.

communications and lack of basics, like fuel for those ignoring basic bush-orientated Also, the entire region is dotted with tall

which has to be brought in overland across disciplines. granite outcrops, some more than a thou-
a region where ambushes are common- Own sources indicate that the rebels are sand feet high and used by the insurgents
place. equipped with an array of good East Euro- to keep track of movement on

The Russian force arrived with a lot of pean and Chinese weapons, the majority the ground, sometimes over
good military equipment that included “out of the box”, as well as radio communi- scores of kilometres.

helicopters, drones and infantry fighting cation equipment. Also, they know how to Exactly the same situation held during

vehicles, but obviously they knew little of make good use of it all. Lisbon’s colonial war in the south-east Afri-

actual conditions in the field, Ellis told me. More salient, Ellis suggested, they were can territory almost half a century ago.

The terrain in northern Mozambique pre- unlikely to get on with local folk who are a He added that since the insurgents
MOUNTAIN CAVES IN NORTHERN MOZAMBIQUE'S EMBATTLED NORTH AND sented a new set of problems, he said…’it’s largely Muslim community with a history of
KNOWN TO BE USED BY THE GUERRILLAS AS TEMPORARY BASES a totally different kind of warfare to what antagonism towards foreigners that goes were Muslim - it was not difficult to

imagine where the sympathies of the
they’ve experienced in Syria or Libya.” back centuries. local population would lie. “And that,”
Ellis’s immediate perception was that “The belligerent Makonde tribe, in he declared, “puts paid to any reliable

‘They are simply not up to the task at where the force had originally landed. This inquiry and when they did not, they were their commanders had done very little particular, would regard this alien bunch of intelligence likely to emerge from the

hand,’ said one observer who was followed by a security blanket dragged killed by unknown assailants; there is no groundwork. ‘infidels’ arriving on their portal as a rude jungle interior.”

had spent time in the region. over the entire area by the country’s Forças prize for guessing who was responsible. The main problem faced by the mer- intrusion”, he declared, adding that the It is also notable that tens of thousands
Part of the problem that only recently de Defesa e Segurança (FDS). Journalists Nacala, the force headquarters in Mo- cenary force was that they were totally Makonde people (spread out on both sides of people of the Islamic faith have emigrat-
emerged was that many Mozambique covering the story and tried to enter the zambique, is the biggest city in the north of unfamiliar with what became a series of of the Rovuma River) gave the Portuguese ed into the region from Tanzania in recent

soldiers went months without being paid. area are often arrested. that country and while still operational, the tough encounters against an enemy thor- army a lot of grief when they still ruled. years, a community that would clearly be

The money had been dispatched north- It is not only Mozambique security that is Russians were spread about in three mili- oughly familiar with conditions “in its own As for air cover, he declared after their opposed to any kind of

wards from Maputo but it often went into a threat to anybody getting too close to the tary barracks, namely Macomia and Mueda backyard”. combatants had pulled back to Nacala, “the “foreign military intru-

the pockets of their officers; stuck in an Russian operatives. Nobody needs to be (Cabo Delgado province in the north) as Most contacts followed ambushes laid impression I got from some of my people sion”, as it was phrased by
isolated corner of the country a thousand reminded of the three Moscow journal- well as the command group in the southern by the insurgents in culverts or approach- who were on the ground there, was that a local news agency Carta
miles from the capital compounded the ists murdered while doing investigative Nampula province. es to water crossings, the route taken by Wagner operatives displayed little under- de Moçambique. To page 52

matter still further. research on the mercenary group’s Kremlin According to John Gartner, a former Rho- Wagner’s soldiers having been monitored standing how such things operate in that With almost no frontier

Shortly afterwards, the entire Wagner links in the Central African Republic in desian Special Forces operative and head

contingent - together with all its aircraft - August 2018. of OAM, a private military company that

pulled out of northern Mozambique and Kirill Radchenko, Alexander Rastorgu- originally tendered for the security contract
returned to their regional headquarters yev and Orkhan Dzhemal were warned by but lost out to Wagner, the Mozambique’s

at Nacala, a large air base north of Beira friends to desist from continuing with their military was not the only participant at

THE LUGENDA RIVER ADJACENT TO THE TANZANIAN FRONTIER
WHERE MUCH OF THE FIGHTING HAS BEEN TAKING PLACE
RELOADING MI-24 ROCKET PODS
World Airnews | March 2020 World Airnews | March 2020
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