Why Mozambique invited foreign troops to fight its jihadists

MOCíMBOA DA PRAIARDF has been at the centre of Mozambique’s war against jihadists. For years the town in the north-eastern province of Cabo Delgado has been home to aggrieved Muslims from the Mwani ethnic group, angry at how the mostly Catholic Makonde elite dominate politics and business. The port was also a hub for people, ideas and goods—Islamists from across east Africa, fundamentalism and, later, money and guns. In October 2017, when an Islamic sect turned violent, it was the site of the first battle of a conflict that has cost at least 3,200 lives and displaced 800,000 people. The insurgency then grew. Jihadists seized Mocímboa da Praia in August last year. From there they plotted an attack in March on Palma, 80km along the coast, which led to the shelving of a nearby gas project that the government had hoped would transform the economy.Many Mozambicans therefore cheered when, on August 8th, Mocímboa da Praia was reclaimed. Whether this marks the beginning of the end for the group known locally as al-Shabab (like the unrelated Somali group) is unclear. What is certain is that the operation led by the Rwanda Defence Force () reflects how a locally rooted conflict is internationalising.