Rwanda security forces involved in counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in Cabo Delgado Province of northern Mozambique on Saturday, October 15, discovered stockpiles of weapons and ammunition hidden by the Islamic State-linked terrorists. The weapons and ammunitions were hidden by the fleeing terrorists in a thick forest region called Mbau, southeast of Mocimboa da Praia District, in 2021. The stockpile includes hundreds of weapons ranging from small arms and rockets as well as ammunition and shells. “The weapons and ammunition were hidden by the terrorists during the time when the Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) pursued and dislodged them from their strongholds in areas in Siri 1 and 2 in the general area of Mbau,” reads part of an RDF statement. “The operation to discover the weapons is a pre-emptive action which denies the enemy the opportunity of returning and re-equipping themselves for further insurgent actions.” On July 9, 2021, at the request of Maputo, Kigali deployed troops to the Province of Cabo Delgado to help fight the terrorists, stabilize the area and restore state authority. Barely two weeks after landing, Rwandan and Mozambican forces were circling major bases of the terrorists and capturing them. On August 8, 2021, the joint forces captured Mocimboa da Praia, a port city that was the headquarters of the terrorists for nearly five years. The capture of the port city dealt a heavy blow to the terrorists who had driven around 826,000 people from their homes and killed more than 2,000 others, in the Province. Later, that month, Rwandan and Mozambican forces hemmed in the terrorist group's last major areas of operation, Siri I and Siri II, and Mbau, located in vast thick forests. A few weeks later, the joint forces started helping hundreds of people displaced by the terrorists in Cabo Delgado return to their homes. In Palma and Mocimboa da Praia Districts where Rwandan security forces operate, more than 130,000 internally displaced persons have returned to their villages and homes. The first and second phases of the Rwanda security forces operation were planning and movement of troops, respectively. During the decisive third phase, Rwandan forces, working with their Mozambican counterparts, quickly purged the terrorists from their strongholds in Palma and Mocimboa da Praia Districts. The two districts are the Rwandan security forces’ area of responsibility. Currently, Maj Gen Eugene Nkubito, the joint task force commander of Rwandan security forces in Cabo Delgado, is overseeing the fourth phase, stabilisation. In this phase, Rwandan and host nation security forces must not only help thousands of people return to their villages and settle peacefully. They also ensure that people get access to, among others, healthcare in a region where the health system is not functioning. The security forces must also stay alert to ensure that the terrorists don’t return to disturb the peace. Terrorists are still operating in districts, not in the Rwandan security forces’ area of responsibility. “The fourth phase, stabilisation, goes together with the third phase, the decisive one, because the enemy was defeated but not destroyed completely. Now, as we keep maintaining security, we enter the stabilisation phase where people are returning to their homes and villages,” Gen Nkubito recently told The New Times. “People need to be helped to stabilise; start working and engaging in all other socio-economic activities. We help them because they need support. That's what we are doing today. We do it together with government forces and the local leaders.”
