Ramaphosa in Mozambique for regional summit on security crisis
The summit of Southern African Development Community leaders will discuss insecurity and violence in the region, particularly in Mozambique’s northern province of Cabo Delgado.
PRETORIA, May 27 (ANA) – President Cyril Ramaphosa was on Thursday leading South Africa’s delegation to an extraordinary regional summit hich will focus on terrorist attacks in northern Mozambique, his office said.
“The SADC (Southern African Development Community) extraordinary double troika will discuss terrorism engulfing the region, including insecurity in the Cabo Delgado province in the Republic of Mozambique,” South Africa’s Presidency said in a statement dated Wednesday.
The troika is presently chaired by Mozambique, with Malawi as incoming chair and Tanzania as outgoing chair. The troika of the SADC organ on politics, defence and security cooperation consists of Botswana as current chair, South Africa as incoming chair and Zimbabwe as outgoing chair. Together, these constitute the SADC double troika.
The meeting of the heads of state was preceded by those of ministers and senior officials from southern African region, the Presidency said.
Ramaphosa is being accompanied by South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation Minister Dr Naledi Pandor, Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and Minister of State Security Ayanda Dlodlo.
The latest summit is a follow-up on one held last month to formulate a regional strategy to deal with the security threat that has become a major concern not only for Mozambique, but for its neighbours and the international community.
In March, South Africa had to evacuate its nationals, including the body of a man killed in violence in northern Mozambique. Adrian Nel was among several people who died during an insurgency waged by militant Islamists and had been part of a convoy trying to escape the town of Palma in Cabo Delgado.
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa
