Good afternoon. The penetration of insurgents into the Kambako hunting camp, on the border between Cabo Delgado and Niassa provinces, demonstrates once again how much the Islamic State-backed insurgents can freely roam around in the province (see below). Presumably they were the same people who attacked and burned the village of Ntola on 12 April. Ntola, some 55km from the edge of the hunting block, is the nearest site of an insurgent attack recently. In between lies nothing but dense bush, providing good cover.
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For insurgents to come this far west is rare. There are few settlements in the north-west of Cabo Delgado, making it difficult for the insurgents to support themselves through looting. On the other side of the provincial border lies the Niassa Special Reserve, a nature reserve home to lions and elephants. In between are the hunting blocks, large stretches of land managed by businesses that, every year, welcome rich tourists, mainly from the United States and the Middle East (including some Saudi royals) who come to go on safari, hunt animals like leopard, buffalo and antelope, and live among the wildlife. The industry has been growing in the years since the covid-19 pandemic. As well as bringing in much-needed US dollars and tax revenue, the $10m-a-year hunting industry also provides private sector security for the Niassa reserve. Poachers trying to reach the reserve first have to get through the hunting blocks, and their security guards, that surround it.
