SADC extends military mission in Cabo Delgado

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SADC extends military mission in Cabo Delgado

3:49 CAT | 18 Aug 2022

Photo: Twitter / @BenitaNtumba

The countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Wednesday renewed the mandate of the SADC military mission in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.

According to the final communiqué from the 42nd ordinary summit of heads of state and government of SADC, held on Wednesday in Kinshasa, the “report on the security situation in the province of Cabo Delgado” was analyzed.

“The organization approved the extension of the mandate of the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) and the relevant related processes”, the communiqué said – but it indicated no deadline for the extension of the mission. The previous extension ended on 15 July.

The summit “commended SAMIM Personnel Contributing Countries (PCCs) for their solidarity and sacrifice in supporting the Mission, and expressed condolences to the governments and families of the nine (9) deceased SAMIM personnel who died in the theatre of operations”, the communiqué added.

Parts of Cabo Delgado province have been plagued by terrorist attacks since 2017. There are about 800,000 internally displaced people due to the conflict, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and about 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

Since July 2021, an offensive by government troops with Rwandan support, later joined by SAMIM, allowed the recovery of areas where terrorists had been present, in northern districts, near Tanzania, notably the districts of Palma and Mocimboa da Praia.

As for other conflicts in the region, the summit “expressed concern and solidarity on the latest security developments in the eastern DRC, and instructed the chairperson of the ministerial committee of the SADC Organ on Political, Defence and Security Cooperation to engage with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres “to explore all avenues to support efforts towards improving the security situation”.

The Summit also “welcomed a brief report presented by the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini, regarding the security situation in the country, and while condemning the violence, it mandated the Chairperson of the Organ to convene an Extra-ordinary Summit of the Organ Troika plus Eswatini, at a date to be determined, aimed at finding a peaceful and lasting solution to the security challenges facing the country”.

📌Sommet SADC: 10 chefs de l’État + 1 Roi étaient présents à Kinshasa. pic.twitter.com/Q5Hg0lziOU

— BENITA TSHISEKEDI ETAT DE DROIT🧡💚💛💜 (@BenitaNtumba) August 18, 2022