The blitz offensive by Rwandan troops, coordinated with the FADM, in the district of Mocímboa da Praia, whose main town was recovered on AUG.08 after the departure of the Islamic-inspired armed groups active in the province of Cabo Delgado, disturbed the economic interests of the local political-military elite.

Several senior Army officers are linked, along with persistent leaks of information to insurgents, to illicit businesses such as drug trafficking, and land occupation for later acquisition of rights of use (DUATs) in strategic areas near the area reserved for gas infrastructure (Afungi complex) in order to market them in the future.

Within FRELIMO, the “hard” line, namely the so-called “Maconde clan” led by AC, from the outset maintained hostility to the possibility of foreign forces becoming involved in the country's internal affairs (AM 1295). The argument invoked was to ensure the country's territorial sovereignty, compromised to the presence of foreign forces, namely South Africans, on the ground. READ MORE