Foreign intervention will help Mozambique curb insurgency in Cabo Delgado – SADC

Foreign military intervention in Cabo Delgado has helped Mozambican forces make gains against terrorists in the province, says the SADC.

CAPE TOWN, November 12 (ANA) – Foreign intervention will save Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique from the terrorist insurgency that has affected the region over the past few years, the head of the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) Professor Mpho Molomo said on Thursday.

Speaking at a webinar hosted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) entitled “Will foreign intervention end terrorism in Mozambique”, Molomo said the joint intervention by SAMIM and the Rwandan and Mozambican defence forces had been able to dislodge insurgents from their bases.

The deployment of the SADC Standby Force Rapid Deployment Capability for three months, subject to extension, was agreed at the SADC Summit in Mozambique on June 23, 2021.

SAMIM forces were launched by the SADC and the host nation on August 9 and had now achieved full operational capability. Rwandan troops were deployed to Mozambique a month earlier.

The intervention by foreign forces had been instrumental in stabilising the situation and assisting the Mozambique Defence Forces to hold ground in areas which have been liberated to facilitate the roll-out of other forms of assistance, said the SADC.

“This has resulted in the neutralising of many terrorists, seizure of their equipment and materials, including their strategic plans, enabling the government of Mozambique and its allied forces to appreciate the problem of Cabo Delgado and giving them an opportunity to ascertain the terrorists’ identity and methods of operations.”

Molomo said that military intervention was only one aspect of the situation. There was now a need to secure Cabo Delgado to ensure law and order and rule of law, restoration of services such as electricity and water, reopening of schools and a return to normalcy.

He said the rapid deployment of SAMIM and other forces had given humanitarian aid agencies the chance to plough back and allowed the government of Mozambique to build back and roll out infrastructure and financial assistance packages, particularly to the youth.

What will ultimately curb the insurgency in northern Mozambique is a political road map that the government has put in place, which requires up to US$300 million for reconstruction and other international partners to back this process. He said it was essential for the SADC to come on board and assist Mozambique through SAMIM because the regional bloc realised that, if allowed to fester, terrorism could spread throughout region, said Molomo.

Molomo said Mozambique had done a splendid job in co-ordinating the multilateral operations to facilitate the roll-out of humanitarian assistance by UN agencies and other organisations.

As a result of the joint operations, more than 150 people were rescued, a sizeable amount of equipment was captured, and items such as vehicles, foodstuffs, medicine, computers and documents were seized from the terrorists and were now being processed and analysed. The operation also resulted in the return and settlement of about 15,000 internally displaced persons, he said.

The joint operations have also successfully enabled the opening of major supply routes in Cabo Delgado and public utilities such as electricity and water have been restored.

Beyond the military intervention, there will be a need for support to Mozambique in the continued settlement of internally displaced persons, provision of basic needs, socio-economic development, and construction of houses and public infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and airports.

The spokesperson of the Mozambique Defence Forces, Colonel Omar Saranga, said combined operations by SAMIM and the Rwandan contingent had improved the capacity of the Mozambican Defence Forces, resulting in the deactivation of terrorist bases thanks to excellent collaboration under the assistance co-ordinated by the Mozambican Defence Forces.

Saranga thanked the SADC, Rwanda, the European Union, the United States and the international community for showing commitment in order for Mozambique to combat terrorism.

– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher