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- Tanzanian-born Abu Yasir Hassan and Mozambican Bonomade Machude Omar have been placed on the EU sanctions list.
- The two men are seen to pose a threat to the EU's interests in Mozambique.
- ISIS-Mozambique killed almost 1 300 people between October 2017 and March 2021 in Cabo Delgado.
The European Union (EU) council has placed ISIS-Mozambique and two of its leaders under targeted sanctions as the bloc introduces more measures to counter insurgency in the oil-gas-rich Cabo Delgado province.
Tanzanian-born Abu Yasir Hassan and Bonomade Machude Omar - who was born in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique - were singled out by the EU's 27-member bloc, which shapes its political direction, as "responsible for terrorist attacks and serious human rights abuses".
In a statement, the EU council said the two men were instrumental in terrorist operations in the area, which it said were a threat to some of the EU's interests.
"Their activities contribute to the expansion of the terrorist threat in Mozambique and pose a serious threat to the EU and to regional and international stability," the bloc added.
So far, five groups and five individuals are currently subject to an asset freeze and a travel ban.
Additionally, it is prohibited for EU individuals and operators to provide the sanctioned individuals and groups with financial or economic resources.
More could be added to the list as the EU counters terrorist threats posed by al-Qaeda, ISIL/Da'esh and their regional affiliates.
"The EU remains committed to taking decisive action against those who continue to threaten international peace and security by planning, financing and committing terrorist attacks, and by spreading their deadly terrorist propaganda around the world," it said.
ISIS-Mozambique killed almost 1 300 people between October 2017 and March 2021, and additional violence resulted in the deaths of 2 500 people, including members of the security forces, civilians, and suspected militants.
READ | Multibillion-rand plan to reconstruct insurgency-hit Cabo Delgado
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) estimates more than a million people have been displaced in Cabo Delgado and more than two million others are in need of humanitarian aid as a result of the insurgency.
Alongside the targeted sanctions, the EU deploys a wide variety of initiatives as part of an integrated approach - encompassing humanitarian, development, peacebuilding, and security actions - to address the armed violence in Cabo Delgado.
Under this approach, the EU has been supporting displaced people fleeing violence and providing food and basic goods to local populations suffering because of the grave humanitarian situation.
The EU has also put in place multidimensional security support consisting of the deployment of an EU military training mission (EUTM Mozambique) and the delivery of non-lethal equipment through the European Peace Facility, and an EU counter-terrorism expert assisting in the police and law-enforcement sector in Mozambique.
In addition, the EU supports regional and bilateral security efforts in Cabo Delgado.
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
