Good morning everyone,

Good morning, and welcome to The Situation Room. Today we’ll be covering continuing protests in Mozambique, operations against Colombia's Clan del Golfo, and a recent loss for Assad in Syria.

22 shot, 5 Killed as Mozambique Protests Continue for a 7th Week

By: Bianca Bridger, Africa Desk Chief

At least five people have been killed across Mozambique and 22 others left with gunshot wounds as of Wednesday as demonstrations against the disputed October 9 presidential election results enter a new phase. According to data from local NGO Plataforma Eleitoral Decide, the bulk of shootings (14) occurred in Nampula, followed by Cabo Delgado (7) and Maputo Province (1). 4 deaths as a result of protester confrontations with police occurred in Nampula, with 1 death recorded in Maputo Province. The violence has left a rising toll, with 76 deaths and 240 injuries reported since the protests began in late October, alongside over 3,000 arrests.

Last week, the country’s military acknowledged they had run over a young woman in the capital while “on a mission to protect economic assets.” The woman sustained serious head injuries and was taken to hospital, local press said.

The unrest began after the National Electoral Commission (CNE) declared Daniel Chapo, backed by the ruling Frelimo party, as the winner with 70.67% of the vote. Opposition candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who came second with 20.32%, rejected the results, calling them fraudulent. As a result, Mondlane's lawyer and top party aide, Elvino Dias, was preparing to legally challenge the election results after preliminary parallel vote counts conducted by the party allegedly revealed higher support for PODEMOS.

However, on the night of Friday 17th, Dias and Paulo Guambe, head of PODEMOS, were ambushed while inside a vehicle in the capital, Maputo, and shot dead. No suspects have been identified in the killing.

The protests have sparked a wave of widespread civil disobedience, with participants halting traffic and marching in the streets to contest the election’s legitimacy.

In addition to the deaths and injuries, tensions remain high across the country, with clashes between protesters and police. In northern regions like Nampula and Cabo Delgado, where the majority of the injuries occurred, the security forces have used live ammunition to break up crowds.

Mondlane has called for a week of intensified protests, urging supporters to halt all vehicles between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. He’s also asking people to gather in their neighbourhoods, sing national anthems, and display protest posters on vehicles during the stoppage. The opposition leader has vowed that the demonstrations will continue for seven days, keeping up the pressure on the government.

While the CNE has declared Chapo the winner, the results are still awaiting validation by the Constitutional Council. This uncertainty adds to the tense situation as both sides prepare for further legal and street-level battles.

With Mozambique facing rising violence and political unrest, the country stands at a crucial moment in its democratic journey, with no clear end in sight for the protests.

Colombian Military Strikes Another Blow Against Clan del Golfo

By: Trent Barr, Latin America Desk Chief

Colombia’s Ministry of Defense announced the results of a recent military operation targeting one of the country’s premier narco-terrorist organizations and largest active paramilitary, known as the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC), also known as Clan del Golfo.

An Escalating Conflict

Three individuals thought to belong to the criminal organization were arrested by authorities, while two others were killed during the operation, marking further casualties suffered by the armed group amid increasing efforts by the Colombian armed forces to crack down on the narco-terrorist organization. Following the operation, Colombian authorities seized a number of firearms, including four rifles, a pistol, two revolvers, among further equipment used to carry out criminal operations including camouflage clothing. Previous operations conducted by the Colombian military have shown similar positive results, with authorities arresting a former army colonel thought to be working with the AGC on murder charges last week.

The colonel, identified as José Alejandro Castro Cadavid, was arrested after authorities discovered that the former colonel had allegedly conspired with the AGC to assassinate a prominent human rights activist and vocal critic of Clan del Golfo known by the name of Narciso Beleño, who was active in the south of Colombia’s Bolívar department. Beleño had previously reported on alleged attacks by the armed group, which included home invasions and kidnappings, among other violent acts, likely provoking the attack that ultimately took his life.

In response to Beleño’s efforts, Clan del Golfo threatened the activist and president of the Federation of Agro-Miners of Southern Bolívar (Fedeagromisbol) but refused to cease his reporting on the alleged crimes of the AGC.

Following Beleño’s murder, the United Nations issued a statement in which the international organization condemned the murder before calling on authorities to properly investigate the crime and apprehend those responsible for the assassination.

Despite numerous successful operations launched by the Colombian military, Clan del Golfo has not taken such offenses lightly. The armed group has launched a number of their own counterattacks, with a notable example being an attack on two Colombian police officers. During this attack, the two officers were kidnapped, tortured, and stripped of their clothing. According to Semana, a Colombian news outlet, the pair were members of a police unit that works alongside the US government in addressing the smuggling of narcotics in Colombia. The two officers were reportedly working on a report using photographs in civilian clothes prior to their capture by the AGC in Antioquia, a department known for the large presence of the AGC. During their work, ten members of the AGC approached the pair, searching both the officers and their vehicle, which resulted in the officers’ identities being compromised by the members of the paramilitary organization.

The pair were then reportedly transported to the jungle, where they were tortured by their captors in an effort to extract information regarding information obtained by the police during their investigation. The officers maintained their cover as engineers working with the police’s technological unit. Following 12 hours of torture and interrogation, the members of the AGC released the officers but kept the officers’s personal and professional effects, including their bulletproof vests, service pistols, personal documents, and money, before warning the captured officers.

Syrian Insurgents Capture Hama Amid Renewed Conflict

The Syrian civil war, a protracted and devastating conflict that began in 2011, has taken a sharp turn as insurgent forces claimed control of Hama, Syria’s fourth-largest city, on Thursday. This victory follows days of intense clashes and marks a significant setback for President Bashar al-Assad’s government, just days after opposition forces seized much of Aleppo, the nation’s largest city.

Strategic Importance of Hama

Hama, situated roughly 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Damascus, serves as a critical junction linking Syria’s central region to its north, east, and west. Its proximity to Homs, another pivotal city and a gateway to the capital, underscores the insurgents’ strategic advance. Hama also borders Latakia, a coastal province and stronghold of Assad’s support base, heightening its importance in the ongoing conflict.

The city is historically significant, notably for the 1982 Hama massacre when security forces under Hafez al-Assad, the current president's father, brutally crushed a Muslim Brotherhood uprising, killing thousands. Its capture today represents a symbolic and strategic blow to the Assad regime.

The insurgent offensive, spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, has reignited the war. HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani declared the capture of Hama as a "conquest of mercy and compassion" in a video message. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that insurgents now control critical infrastructure, including the police headquarters, airbase, and central prison, where detainees were reportedly freed.

The Syrian army confirmed its withdrawal from Hama, framing it as a strategic redeployment to protect civilians. However, the military acknowledged significant losses, accusing insurgents of using suicide attacks to breach the city’s defenses.

The renewed fighting has displaced tens of thousands of Syrians. The capture of Aleppo and Hama within a week signals a shift in the conflict's dynamics, as opposition forces exploit perceived vulnerabilities in Assad’s government. Both Russia and Iran, Assad's key allies, appear distracted by their own geopolitical challenges, potentially weakening their support for the Syrian regime.

This escalation has compounded the humanitarian crisis in Syria, already one of the world’s most dire. Aid agencies have warned of worsening conditions as civilians flee active combat zones. Hama’s fall is a critical loss for Assad, whose forces have managed to hold key urban centers throughout much of the war. Rami Abdurrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, described it as a possible turning point, stating, “If Hama falls, it means the beginning of the regime’s fall has started.”

The insurgents’ next likely target is Homs, a city approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Hama and crucial for access to Damascus. With Aleppo and Hama under opposition control, Assad faces a rapidly shifting battlefield.

The Syrian conflict, long characterized by its complexity and international entanglements, has entered a new phase with the insurgents’ recent gains. While the immediate future remains uncertain, the fall of Hama highlights the fragility of Assad’s grip on power and raises questions about the broader geopolitical ramifications of Syria's civil war.

As the situation develops, the focus remains on the human toll of the conflict, with millions displaced and enduring immense suffering. The international community’s response to this latest escalation will likely shape the trajectory of Syria’s war in the weeks and months to come.

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