A report and experts have revealed that traffickers associated with ISIS terrorists are collaborating with Chinese traders to illegally export natural resources from Mozambique. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) found that timber smuggling from Mozambique to China is fueling an Islamist insurgency and organized crime in the country. This illegal trade involves rare hardwoods and violates China’s log export ban, while also funding jihadists in Cabo Delgado province.
The ISIS-affiliated terrorists in Mozambique have been carrying out a violent campaign for the past decade, leading to numerous casualties and displacements. The group aims to establish a caliphate in Cabo Delgado, claiming to fight for the rights of locals against the government’s alleged neglect despite the province’s abundant resources.
Cabo Delgado’s wealth includes oil, natural gas, rubies, and sapphires. The region has also attracted major investments from companies like Total and Gemfields Group. However, the presence of Ansar terrorists has brought devastation to the area, with massacres, beheadings, and other atrocities being carried out since 2017.
EIA’s investigation highlighted the significant role of the illicit timber trade in financing the terrorists. The report revealed that the terrorists earn millions of dollars each month from exporting rosewood to China, despite international bans on such activities. Chinese logging companies have been accused of exploiting Mozambique’s rosewood forests for profit, colluding with corrupt officials and terrorist groups.
The EIA report also exposed the environmental impact of this illegal trade, with millions of hectares of forest cover lost in Mozambique over the years. Global Forest Watch estimates that the country loses a substantial amount of forest cover daily due to illicit logging activities.
Despite a log export ban in place since 2017, China continues to import large quantities of rosewood from Mozambique. EIA investigators identified numerous shipments of rosewood being sent to China, with the revenue generated from these exports benefitting terrorist groups in the region.
The situation in Cabo Delgado underscores the complex interplay between terrorism, organized crime, and environmental exploitation. Chinese traders’ involvement in the illicit timber trade has exacerbated the conflict in Mozambique, highlighting the need for international cooperation to address these interconnected challenges.
They also falsely label the contents of containers to conceal rosewood shipments.
The report mentions the activities of Chinese national Yu Guofa, described as a businessman holding mining and forestry concessions in Mozambique.
Yu admitted to investigators that at least half of the timber he deals in is âunprocessed,â which goes against Mozambiqueâs log export ban.
He admitted to trading unprocessed logs from Cabo Delgado to China and Vietnam âfor many years,â and assisting other Chinese timber trading companies in doing the same.
Yu informed the EIA that he has close ties with Nyusi and certain military leaders in Cabo Delgado.
Suaze mentioned that the president of Mozambique denies having any knowledge of âanyone by the name of Yu Guofa.â
Jasmine Opperman, a security analyst and former South African counterintelligence officer, told The Epoch Times that the EIA findings âare very plausible.â
âIt has become apparent that these terrorists are receiving external sources of funding as the insurgency continues despite the presence of SADC troops,â she stated.
âRecent attacks demonstrate that the terror activities are spreading beyond Cabo Delgado. I have received information that Ansar al-Sunna is recruiting new fighters throughout Mozambique and even in neighboring countries like Tanzania.
âIt would not be possible for them to do so, and to have access to more weapons and ammunition, without a steady stream of funding.â
