Mozambique: Government committed to ‘annihilate leaders’ of armed groups in Cabo Delgado

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Mozambique: Government committed to ‘annihilate leaders’ of armed groups in Cabo Delgado

9:36 CAT | 19 Nov 2020

Mozambique's Minister of Defence addressing parliament in Maputo on Wednesday (November 18). [Screen grab: TV Miramar]

The Mozambican defence minister, Jaime Neto, on Wednesday said that the defence and security forces (FDS) are determined to annihilate the leaders of the armed groups that are carrying out attacks in Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique.

The minister said that an offensive against the bases of the terrorists was underway, but did not give details about the operation.

He said that the FDS has the support of the population and of former national liberation fighters in locating and identifying the shelters where the members of the armed groups hide.

“In defence of territorial integrity and protection of the population, the military offensive against terrorist bases continues,” he added.

He said that the executive was also committed to cutting supply lines and external funding of the armed groups, through international and regional cooperation based mainly on the exchange of information.

In Wednesday’s first speech to the parliament, the prime minister, Carlos Agostinho do Rosário, said that around 500,000 people had already been forced to flee from the districts devastated by armed violence, having sheltered elsewhere in Cabo Delgado and outside the province.

Rosario called for the unity of all Mozambicans in the fight against terrorism, arguing that the attacks in the north attack the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

“This is one of the moments in the lives of Mozambicans where there should be no room for partisan, ethnic, racial and tribal differences that prevent us from fighting and remaining vigilant in the face of terrorist acts”, the prime minister said.

The armed violence in Cabo Delgado has lasted for three years and is causing a humanitarian crisis with around 2,000 deaths and 435,000 displaced people, without housing or sufficient food – mainly in the provincial capital, Pemba.

Source: Lusa