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A6 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 24 august 2022
Mozambique’s jihadi rebels launch new offensive in north

By ALEXANDRE NHAMPOS- less hit-and-run assaults on
SA and TOM GOULD undefended villages, forc-
Associated Press ing the military and police
MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) off-balance as they rush to
— A new offensive by Mo- respond from one incident
zambique’s Islamic extrem- to the next.
ist rebels in the embattled “In the context of logistical
northern province of Cabo limitations, whether due
Delgado has increased to the number of soldiers
the number of displaced or military equipment, the
by 80,000 and undermines increase in the number of
the government’s claims of attacks across dispersed
containing the insurgency. areas will limit the pursuit
The rebels have expanded of armed groups by gov-
their area in a campaign ernment forces and their
that has lasted for more partners,” said João Feijó, a
than two months. The new researcher at the Mozam-
offensive, which started bique-based Observatory
in June, follows a period of the Rural Environment.
of relative calm when the In this image made from video, Rwandan police patrol a road in Palma, Cabo Delgado province, “It is a strategy that aims
commander-general of Mozambique, Sunday Aug. 15, 2021. In this image made from video, Rwandan police patrol a to increase the difficulties
Mozambique’s national road in Palma, Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique, Sunday Aug. 15, 2021. for government forces and
police had declared that Associated Press their partners, and they
“the war against terrorism is 950,000, according to esti- of the foreign military in- the state and the local need to devise an ade-
almost at an end.” mates by the International tervention confirms what population,” Forquilha con- quate response to this.”
That claim proved to be Organization for Migration. was already clear” that the tinued. “As long as the gov- The 16-nation Southern Af-
hollow as the fighters have Despite the military support government is wrong to say ernment ignores this fact, rican Development Com-
struck further south than that Mozambique is receiv- the insurrection has been the attacks will not stop.” munity is due to decide in
ever before, burning vil- ing from troops sent by caused by an external in- Mozambique’s security August whether to further
lages and beheading ci- neighboring countries and vasion with obscure inter- forces and the allied for- extend its military interven-
vilians in the Ancuabe, Rwanda, the rebels are far ests, said Albino Forquilha, eign troops have suc- tion, which originally had a
Chiure and Mecufi districts from defeated. The foreign executive director of FO- ceeded in driving insur- mandate for three months,
which had previously been troops were deployed in MICRES, an independent gents from the main towns beginning in July 2021.
untouched by the conflict Cabo Delgado a year ago, peacebuilding organiza- of Cabo Delgado into the The experience of the last
since it began in October following the extremists’ sei- tion in Mozambique. forests, but this has effec- year suggests that more
2017.The latest bout of vio- zure of the strategic town “The truth is that the con- tively put rural civilians on than just military force is
lence brings the total num- of Palma in March, 2021. flict has internal origins due the frontline. Since June, needed to bring the in-
ber of people displaced in “The prevalence of attacks to bad governance and a the insurgency has been surgency to heel, say
Cabo Delgado to just under a year after the beginning poor relationship between characterized by relent- analysts.q

Large section of smoldering Beirut

port silos collapses

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB stood the force of the ex- vironment minister, Nasser
Associated Press plosion on Aug. 4, 2020, ef- Yassin, told Lebanese TV
BEIRUT (AP) — Another fectively shielding the west- that the government will
significant section of the ern part of Beirut from the now look into how to en-
devastated Beirut Port si- blast that killed over 200 sure the southern block re-
los collapsed on Tuesday people, injured more than mains standing. He urged
morning in a cloud of dust. 6,000 and badly damaged residents near the port to

No injuries were reported entire neighborhoods. wear masks, and said ex-
the area had been long Emmanuel Durand, a perts would conduct air
evacuated but the col- French civil engineer who quality tests. This image from a video, shows smoke and dust rising from
collapsing silos damaged during the August 2020 massive
lapse was another pain- volunteered for the govern- In April, the Lebanese gov- explosion in the port, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022.
ful reminder of the horrific ment-commissioned team ernment decided to demol- Associated Press
August 2020 explosion. The of experts, told The Associ- ish the silos, but suspended
collapse left the silos’ south- ated Press that the speed the decision following pro- and Lebanese Army sol- residents near the port have
ern part standing next to a of the tilt rapidly acceler- tests from families of the diers were unable to put told the AP that watching
pile of charred ruins. The ated overnight on Mon- blast’s victims and survivors. it out and it smoldered for the fire from their homes
northern block had already day, just hours before the They contend that the silos over a month. Officials had and offices was like reliving
been slowly tipping over collapse. may contain evidence use- warned that the silo could the trauma from the port
since the initial explosion “There was a very sharp ful for the judicial probe, collapse, but feared risking blast, which started with
two years ago but rapidly acceleration, which was and that it should stand the lives of firefighters and a fire in a warehouse near
deteriorated after it caught expected,” Durand ex- as a memorial for the 2020 soldiers who struggled to the silos that contained
fire over a month ago due plained. “When this hap- tragedy. In July, a fire broke get too close to put out the hundreds of tons of explo-
to fermenting grains. pens, you know it’s going out in the northern block blaze or drop containers of sive ammonium nitrate,
The 50 year old, 48 meter to go.” of the silos due to the fer- water from helicopters. improperly stored there for
(157 feet) tall silos had with- The country’s caretaker en- menting grains. Firefighters Survivors of the blast and years.q