Ntontwe, a village in Mozambique’s restive Cabo Delgado province, bears the scars of another jihadist attack. Three residents lie dead, and dozens of homes and businesses reduced to smouldering ash.
The assault, on Wednesday, marks the latest chapter in a five-year insurgency that has plagued the region.
Ntontwe, nestled on the key highway linking north and south Cabo Delgado, has weathered repeated attacks.
A local leader describes the scene in an AFP report: “Our village was attacked. My house is gone. Everything burned down. Forty-three houses, three lives lost.”
Security sources confirm the grim toll. Situated just 20 kilometres from a major Rwandan military base, the village seemed safe. Yet, the Rwandan troops, deployed to combat the insurgency since 2021, arrived too late.
“They came to help us,” the leader continues, “but by then, the insurgents had swept through, looted, burned the stalls, and taken down almost everything.”
Ntontwe, abandoned for years, had begun to see life returning. Last year, residents trickled back, bringing the population to around 5,000 by October. NGOs like Médecins Sans Frontières and Solidarités International supported their return with food, water, and basic needs.
The Mozambican military also established a presence in Ntontwe to protect the vulnerable community. But when the attack came, “they vanished,” says another leader. “We don’t know where they went. It seems they fled with the people, even taking off their uniforms to avoid easy identification, as the insurgents target the military first.”
While Rwandan and other African forces have helped reclaim territory from the jihadists since 2021, Ntontwe’s recent ordeal underscores the ongoing struggle. The road to peace and stability in Cabo Delgado remains long and arduous.
