The attacks have been a troubling development for Niassa Special Reserve and those who live or work in it. At more than 42,000 square kilometers (16,200 square miles), an area bigger than Switzerland, the reserve is the largest protected area in Mozambique.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt holds the most wildlife in Mozambique, it holds one of the seven largest lion populations left on the planet, it holds 350 of the 7,000 wild dogs [left], lots of recovering elephant populations, recovering buffalo populations. It\u2019s very, very precious,\u201d Begg said.<\/p>\n
The last time fighters with the group were active in the reserve was in 2021. According to Peter Bofin, a senior analyst with the conflict-monitoring group ACLED, it\u2019s still unclear what prompted the latest attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been shown that there has been recruitment in Niassa province in the past on a small scale, and also it\u2019s a route into Tanzania \u2014 there are strong connections between the insurgency and support networks in Tanzania, some of which run through Niassa,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In 2021, fighters from the group moved out of Niassa relatively quickly, partly due to the presence of wildlife rangers and other tourism-related activities. Whether they will stay away for an extended period after the recent attacks remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome local sources have speculated that they may have been looking to move into Niassa to bring recruits from other countries in the region back into their strongholds,\u201d Bofin said.<\/p>\n
The April 29 attack forced many residents of the nearby town of Mbamba to flee into the reserve to hide.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s very complex for [the] communities, because the enemy of the insurgents is the government, or government installations,\u201d Begg said. \u201cAnd for the communities, this is their land. This is their home. They just want peace. So I get the sense that for many of them, they don\u2019t know which side to be on, and they\u2019re just keeping a very low profile.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n In response to the attack, Mozambique deployed a contingent of soldiers to Niassa, which is outside the operating area of the more seasoned Rwandan troops stationed in Cabo Delgado. That province is home to a multibillion-dollar offshore LNG project run by French giant TotalEnergies, and has suffered years of delays due to insurgent activity.<\/p>\n At its peak, IS-Mozambique had somewhere around 3,000 fighters. After years of fighting that have involved troops from Russia, South Africa and Rwanda, their numbers have now fallen to 400 or so, according to Bofin.<\/p>\n On May 23, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo said the fighters had \u201cdisappeared\u201d from Niassa.<\/p>\n But Begg told Mongabay there were still soldiers stationed in Mariri and it was not yet safe for her staff to return.<\/p>\n Niassa is a well-known destination for big-game hunters, who are served by one of 15 concession operators working in the reserve. In a separate area, the NCP runs community-oriented programs meant to build support for conservation, including through payments that are tied to species population goals and by compensating victims of human-wildlife conflict.<\/p>\n \u201cWe aren\u2019t going anywhere and remain as committed as ever to Niassa\u2019s wildlife and her people,\u201d Begg said.<\/p>\n For now, the NCP has put most of its activities on hold in the eastern part of the reserve, but is continuing to run educational programs and carnivore conflict response in the west, farther away from the fighting. Begg told Mongabay the group is also working to provide trauma counseling for rangers who were involved in combat, as well as support for the families of those who were killed, wounded, or are still missing.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a new reality,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n