Cabo Delgado is the northernmost province of Mozambique. It has an area of 82,625 km2 (31,902 sq mi) and a population of 2,320,261 (2017). As well as bordering Mtwara Region in the neighboring country of Tanzania, it borders the provinces of Nampula and Niassa. The region is an ethnic stronghold of the Makonde tribe, with the Makua and Mwani as leading ethnic minorities.
Nampula is a province of northern Mozambique. It has an area of 79,010 km2 (30,510 sq mi) and a population of 5,758,920, making it the most populous province in Mozambique. Nampula is the capital of the province.
The Rwanda Defence Force is the military of the Republic of Rwanda. The country's armed forces were originally known as the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR), but following the Rwandan Civil War of 1990–1994 and the Rwandan genocide of 1994 against the Tutsi, the victorious Rwandan Patriotic Front (Inkotanyi) created a new organization and named it the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA). Later, it was renamed to its current name.
Pemba is a port city and district in Mozambique. It is the capital and largest city of the Cabo Delgado province and lies on a peninsula in Pemba Bay, the third largest in Africa. It is located northeast of Maputo, Mozambique's capital.
Muidumbe is a district of Cabo Delgado Province in Mozambique. Its capital is the village of Muidumbe.
Ibo is one of the Quirimbas Islands in the Indian Ocean off northern Mozambique. It is part of Cabo Delgado Province. It grew as a Muslim trading port. Vasco da Gama reportedly rested on the island in 1502. The island was fortified in 1609 by the Portuguese.
The Quirimbas Islands lie in the western Indian Ocean off northeastern Mozambique, close to Pemba, the capital of the province of Cabo Delgado. The archipelago consists of about 32 islands, including Ibo, Matemo, Medjumbe, Quirimba, Metundo, Quisiva, Vamizi Island and Rolas Island all going up to the border of the Tanzanian region of Mtwara.
Macomia District is a district of Cabo Delgado Province in northern Mozambique. It covers 4,252 km² with 91,033 inhabitants.
Mecúfi District is a district of Cabo Delgado Province in northern Mozambique. It is bordered in the north by the district capital of Pemba and the Metuge District, to the west by the Ancuabe District, to the south by the Chiúre District, and to the east by the Indian Ocean. It spans 1,192 km2 with 61,531 inhabitants. The dominant economic activity of the district lies in agriculture, however tourism is also an important activity due to the beaches in the area.
Quissanga District is a district of Cabo Delgado Province in northern Mozambique. It covers 2,118 square kilometres (818 sq mi) with a population of 50,259 as of 2017.
The Messalo is a major river of northeastern Mozambique. It flows through Niassa Province and Cabo Delgado Province, passes near Chai, and flows into the Mozambique Channel of the Indian Ocean at Quiterajo beach at 11°40′25″S40°26′25″E. The Messalo River is 530 km (330 mi) in length while the Messalo River Basin is 24,000 km2 (9,300 sq mi) in size. The river flooded its banks in March 2000 during the 2000 Mozambique flood.
The insurgency in Cabo Delgado is an ongoing Islamist insurgency in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique, mainly fought between militant Islamists and jihadists attempting to establish an Islamic state in the region, and Mozambican security forces. Civilians have been the main targets of terrorist attacks by Islamist militants. The main insurgent faction is Ansar al-Sunna, a native extremist faction with tenuous international connections. From mid-2018, the Islamic State's Central Africa Province has allegedly become active in northern Mozambique as well, and claimed its first attack against Mozambican security forces in June 2019. In addition, bandits have exploited the rebellion to carry out raids. As of 2020, the insurgency intensified, as in the first half of 2020 there were nearly as many attacks carried out as in the whole of 2019.
Al-Shabaab, also known as Ansar al-Sunna or Ahlu Sunna Wal Jammah, is an Islamist militant group active in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique. Since October 2017, it has waged an insurgency in the region, seeking to undermine the secular FRELIMO government and establish an Islamic state. It has occasionally captured territory from the government and has been accused of committing atrocities against civilians.
The Central Africa Province is an administrative division of the Islamic State (IS), a Salafi jihadist militant group and unrecognised quasi-state. As a result of a lack of information, the foundation date and territorial extent of the Central Africa Province are difficult to gauge, while the military strength and activities of the province's affiliates are disputed. The Central Africa Province initially covered all IS activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mozambique. In September 2020, during the insurgency in Cabo Delgado, IS-CAP shifted its strategy from raiding to actually occupying territory, and declared the Mozambican town of Mocímboa da Praia its capital. After this point, however, the Mozambican branch declined and was split off from IS-CAP in 2022, becoming a separate IS province.
The Battle of Palma or the Battle for Palma was fought during late March and early April 2021 over control of the city of Palma in Mozambique, between the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces, other Mozambican security forces and private military contractors on one side, and Islamist rebels reportedly associated with the Islamic State (IS) on another side. The Islamists invaded the city, killing dozens of people before Mozambique regained control days later. Palma was left destroyed, and a major oil and gas company decided to suspend all operations in the area due to the battle. Researchers have described the battle as an overall success for the insurgents. The rebels also maintained their presence in the town's surroundings, and continued to raid Palma in the following weeks. The battle was part of the insurgency in Cabo Delgado, which started in 2017 and has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, mainly local civilians.
From July to November 2021, the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces (FADM) and Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), and belligerents from Southern African Development Community (SADC) states, conducted offensives in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique, against local rebels loyal to the Islamic State's Central Africa Province (IS-CAP). The first offensive succeeded in retaking the important town of Mocímboa da Praia which had previously fallen to rebels as a result of the insurgency in Cabo Delgado.
The Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) is an active regional peacekeeping mission operated by the Southern African Development Community in Northern Mozambique's Cabo Delgado Province.
Mucojo is a town in Macomia District in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique. It has been the site of the heaviest and worst fighting of the Insurgency in Cabo Delgado.
The Battle of Mbau was a battle by the joint Mozambican-Rwandan armed forces against ISIS and Al-Shabab in their headquarters of Mbau, a town 50 kilometers southwest of Mocimboa da Praia. The attack on the location was part of the 2021 Cabo Delgado offensives. Mbau was known as the headquarters of Al-Shabaab and the Mozambican counteroffensive on the town resulted in the loss of Mbau, Siri 1, and Siri 2.
On February 9, 2024, militants from the Islamic State - Mozambique Province stormed a military position of the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces on Friday morning 9 February 2024 in Mucojo, Macomia District in the Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique.
Mozambique 
Islamic State – Central Africa Province (since May 10; temporary control) [1] 