ISIS claims they have taken the city of Palma in Mozambique, causing a refugee crisis.

 

The Sea Star 1 was one of the ships used to evacuate refugees. CBS/AFP/Getty.

ISIS claims that they have taken the city of Palma in Mozambique leading to a major refugee crisis in the region. CBS News. Between 6000 and 10000 people have been safely evacuated from the city as ISIS fighters conducted a major raid in the gas producing region. Dozens of people were killed and more are missing. Palma is near a major French gas project worth billions of dollars and it is feared that ISIS could disrupt the project. Over 700,000 people have been displaced by the insurgency. Attacks have increased recently due to the end of the rainy season.

My Comment:

Remember under President Trump where ISIS was a bad memory? Well those days appear to be done. This major attack in Mozambique comes after a major terror attack in Indonesia yesterday. It's clear that ISIS is making a small comeback and it is not good news.

Even worse it seems like ISIS is now able to take and hold territory again. If the ISIS claims that they have taken Palma are true that means they are back to being an actual power again. ISIS hasn't really held territory for some time now but if they control portions of Mozambique then they are back to being a major threat.

It also seems that ISIS could be making major inroads into threatening France's gas project. Remember, ISIS was able to become a mini-state because they took over Syria's oil production (and farms and cities). If they manage to take the gas project they will have millions of dollars to fund their insurgency. 

Can ISIS take the gas project? I don't know. ISIS never should have ever been able to Mosul in Iraq either but then the Iraqi Army broke and collapsed. Something similar could happen in Mozambique if nothing is done. On the other hand the gas project is well defended and any attack there would likely draw an international intervention. 

The refugee crisis is a serious problem as well. I think Mozambique will probably have a hard time dealing with thousands of refugees and may not get much help either. Remember, the world is still dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic and food shortage, there might not be funds to spread around.