SADC urges humanitarian aid to Mozambicans devastated by terrorism attacks

By Molaole Montsho Last updated Jun 23, 2021

SADC has agreed to deploy Standby Force Mission to help Mozambique to fend-off terrorism attack in Cabo Delgado.

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, whose country is battling terrorism attack in the north province of Cabo Delgado. File picture: Mozambican Presidency website

RUSTENBURG, June 23 (ANA) – The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has called for ongoing humanitarian support for Mozambicans who have been devastated by the terrorist attacks in that country’s Cabo Delgado province.

“Summit urged member states in collaboration with humanitarian agencies to continue providing humanitarian support to the population affected by the terrorist attacks, in Cabo Delgado including the internally displaced people,” read the statement in part.

Islamic state-backed terrorists launched an attack on the town of Palma in the northern province of Cabo Delgado on March 24, killing at least 12 people– including a South African and a Zimbabwean, over 100 000 people fled the area for safety.

SADC troika summit of the heads of state and government on April 8, resolved to deploy a technical team to Mozambique, to assess the threat that islamist militants pose to Mozambique, and determine how to respond to the insurgency.

According to the UN refugee agency, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report two weeks ago, about 70,000 people have fled Palma since March 24, bringing overall displacement to nearly 800,000.

UNHCR said in the wake of the attack in Palma, some 2,000 children have no idea of the whereabouts of their parents, or even if they were alive.

SADC has said on Wednesday at a summit that it will deploy a Standby Force Mission to support Mozambique to combat terrorism in the north of the country.

According to a statement from the extraordinary summit of heads of state and government, the force would be deployed under SADC Standby Force to assist Mozambique to repel terrorism and acts of violent extremist in Cabo Delgado.

It was not clear when would the force be deployed and the number of the force involved was also not indicated.

Botswana president and and the chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, in April said insurgency in Mozambique could lead to a spillover and ultimately instability in southern Africa if left unattended.

He said it was important for the Southern African Development Community to intervene to prevent the three-year-old insurgency in northern Mozambique from spilling over the country’s borders.

The Summit of heads of state and government is the supreme policy-making institution of SADC with the responsibility for the overall policy direction and control of functions of the community in accordance with Article 10 of the SADC Treaty.

– African News Agency (ANA);