Fighting continues in the Cabo Delgado town of Palma and concerns are growing that Mozambique may never be able to pacify the area enough to enable the return of Total and other gas exploration companies. These fears have been heightened by the expected withdrawal of the private security company Dyck Advisory Group, which has been keeping the insurgents partly at bay with its small fleet of light helicopter gunships. Regional leaders are drafting a response to try to curb Islamic State-linked insurgents in Mozambique and prevent a recurrence of attacks like the one on the northern town of Palma over the past week, which killed scores of civilians, including one South African contractor. The attack devastated the town, forcing the withdrawal of the French energy company Total which is hoping to tap vast offshore liquid natural gas (LNG) reserves. Many companies, including some South African ones, which were subcontracting […]