The US State Department has announced a $5 million reward for information on the whereabouts of Ugandan citizen Musa Baluku, the leader of the Islamic State (an organization banned in the Russian Federation) in DR Congo. According to Washington, Baluku is implicated in terrorist attacks, kidnappings, rapes and murders of civilians, including children. In addition, under his direction, minors are forcibly recruited into the group.
It should be noted that the jihadist has been sanctioned twice by the US Department of Justice for human rights violations in the DRC.
Before becoming the head of the “wilayat Centrafrique” (prohibited in the Russian Federation), Baluku was a Sharia judge of the group. According to reports, the jihadist previously held one of the leadership positions of the Islamic State cell in Mozambique. It is believed that it was Baluku who resolved internal disputes within the group’s Mozambican leadership and helped separate Mozambique into an administrative unit separate from the MTO.
Until May 2022, the Mozambican branch was part of the “Central Africa Wilayat”.
