SUMMARY
The Naparama movement emerged as a village self-defense militia in November 2022, as the Namuno, Balama, and Montepuez districts came under attack from Islamic State (IS), which had previously only been active further north (see Mozambique: Islamic State). The Naparama takes its inspiration from a movement of the same name that was active in the early 1990s, during the conflict with Renamo. It is unified in its rituals of "vaccination", which is said to make its members immune to bullets. Its fighters generally eschew firearms in favor of traditional weapons such as bows and spears.
As IS spread uncontrollably into southern and western Cabo Delgado during 2022, the local populations faith in the governments ability to protect them plummeted. As a response, local self-defense forces emerged outside of government control. The most prominent militia to emerge outside of government control was the the Naparama movement.
Naparama fought IS repeatedly at the end of 2022 and early 2023, and the movement rapidly grew in popularity, with locals from across northern Mozambique travelling to centers for "vaccination" rituals, spreading the movement to several new districts. The spread of Naparama to Ancuabe district led to intensified clashes with IS in 2024.
The Naparama appeared to emerge and largely act independently of the government, with minimal government oversight or coordination, and is thus seen as a non-state actor. This is in contrast to the Local Forces, a pro-government militia consisting mainly of the ruling-party Frelimo's veterans, which formally act under police command.
The division from the government was further reinforced during 2024, as relations between the parties deteriorated badly during the protest movement against electoral fraud that began in October. Many Naparama supported the opposition presidential candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, against the Frelimo government, and some members of the movement were shot or arrested during the crackdown of the protests, resulting in clashes with Naparama militias. At first the Naparama had no incompatibility against the government, and its members participation in protests appeared to not be endorsed by the movement's leadership. From late December, however, this changed as a man claiming to be the commander of the Naparama declared his intention to go to Maputo to "wage war" until the newly appointed president, Daniel Chapo, stepped down and handed the victory to Venâncio Mondlane.
Clashes between Naparama and the government erupted in February 2025. Naparama militias stormed the local administrations in several rural areas in Nampula and Zambezia, in several cases forcing the local government and security forces to withdraw from the locality. Naparama attacks appeared to cease after an agreement was reached between Mondlane and Chapo for compensation for victims of state violence in March. Another round of fighting occurred in April as police and military forces struck back against the Naparama that had established some degree of territorial control over some localities, reestablishing government authority. Fighting slowed down considerable afterwards, with both sides appearing somewhat hesitant to provoke further violence.
Naparama has been active in the non-state category of violence, fighting IS, and statebased violence in the conflict over government. Members of the movement has also reportedly been repeatedly involved in extrajudicial executions of people suspected of being members of IS.
