KIGALI, Rwanda

The recapture of a key port city in northern Mozambique over the weekend is a significant development after nearly a year under insurgents’ control, an army officer said Monday.

The Mozambique Defense Ministry announced Sunday that a joint force of government and Rwandan troops had recaptured Mocimboa da Praia in Mozambique’s gas-rich northern province of Cabo Delgado from extremist militants.

“Recapturing the port city of Mocimboa da Praia, a major stronghold of the insurgency for more than two years, is a significant victory as it acts as a strategic port city for Mozambique,” Brig. Gen. Pascal Muhizi, a Rwandan operations commander, told national Rwanda Television.

The port also reportedly acted as an important supply point for the insurgents.

The Mozambique Defense Ministry noted that following joint operations involving the Mozambican Defense and Security Forces and the Rwandan troops, the terrorists have been losing ground and are withdrawing from the areas where they wielded relative influence.

The joint forces of Mozambique and Rwanda are in control of Mocímboa da Praia, including public and private infrastructure, with an emphasis on local government buildings, the port, airport, hospital, markets and restaurants, the ministry said.

The Mozambique government attributed the military victory to the effective collaboration of the local communities.

It said operations are ongoing in Mocímboa da Praia with the aim of consolidating control over critical areas, namely some peripheral neighborhoods and the area where the water treatment plant is located.

The government also called for collective vigilance, noting that due to the ongoing momentum of the offensive, terrorists could infiltrate with the aim of disrupting investigations and the registration of the rescued populations.

“We appeal to the serenity and continued collaboration of the society as a whole and ask them to share with the relevant institutions any relevant information that may help to achieve and defend the nation's current objectives, namely to fight and prevent violent extremism and terrorism,” it said.

At the request of the Maputo government, Rwanda last month deployed 1,000 army and police personnel to Mozambique’s restive province of Cabo Delgado to help combat terrorism.

An armed insurgency with its origin in the wider socio-economic and political disparity has kept Mozambique smoldering since 2017.