Why can’t Mozambique secure Cabo Delgado province?

A hotel has become the latest flashpoint in a long-running conflict in northern Mozambique.

ISIL-linked fighters besieged the town of Palma on Wednesday, forcing nearly 200 people to seek refuge in a resort.

Many are foreign nationals working on a natural gas project owned by Total, which only announced a resumption of operations a few hours before the attack.

The latest assault by the al-Shabab armed group (not related to the Somali group of the same name) highlights increasing instability in the gas-rich Cabo Delgado province.

So why has the Mozambican government failed to contain the unrest?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom

Guests:

Zenaida Machado – Senior researcher, Human Rights Watch

Jasmine Opperman – Senior researcher, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project

Fernando Lima – Journalist and political commentator