EU military support to fight terrorism in Cabo Delgado is out of the question – O País

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EU military support to fight terrorism in Cabo Delgado is out of the question – O País

1:46 CAT | 30 Nov 2020

Photo: O País

The European Union says that it has already disbursed €15 million this year in support of the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado, but stresses that no military aid will be forthcoming.

On September 16 of this year, the Mozambican government sent the EU a request for logistical support and specialised training for the Defence Security Forces (SDS) in combatting terrorism in Cabo Delgado, with the European organisation responding positively.

“Military support is not on the [EU] agenda. We are just going to strengthen Mozambique’s capacities, so that the country’s own security forces are able to end the insurgency,” EU ambassador Antonio Sánchez-Benedito Gaspar explained.

According to the ambassador, the economic and political union of 27 member states is already assisting the internally displaced victims of armed violence in Cabo Delgado. Official figures indicate that terrorism in the province has pushed more than 500,000 people out of their regular abodes. They are currently hosted in Nampula, Zambézia, Niassa and Sofala provinces, among other parts of the country.

Sánchez-Benedito Gaspar also noted that EU support includes humanitarian assistance and the help with basic services for those suffering the harmful effects of terrorism.

“We also need to look to the future. of course, if the humanitarian situation does not improve, the development of the future will not be possible, in a country where there is no security and if there is no stability,” the ambassador said.

On November 17 and 18, the EU met representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in the city of Lichinga, in Niassa, to discuss the political, economic and social situation in Mozambique, bilateral cooperation, regional and international issues of mutual interest and terrorism in Cabo Delgado.

EU🇪🇺 – Mozambique🇲🇿 #PoliticalDialogue opened in Lichinga, Niassa province, with the MFA addressing #EU ambassadors and praising the EU & the Member States for the “exceptional cooperation” thanks to regular dialogue on agreed priorities and a shared agenda for progress. @eu_eeas pic.twitter.com/p9A5KE7pkO

— Antonio Sánchez-Benedito Gaspar (@SBeneditoEU) November 17, 2020

Com renovado compromisso de cooperação bi/multilateral e de coordenação e parceria na resposta aos desafios de segurança, desenvolvimento, #covid19, mudanças climáticas, promoção da paz e estabilidade, terminou o Diálogo Político 🇲🇿🇪🇺 em Lichinga.Eis o nosso comunicado conjunto: pic.twitter.com/geb0AgHkXo

— Antonio Sánchez-Benedito Gaspar (@SBeneditoEU) November 18, 2020

Speaking at a Pan-African Masters Consortium in Interpretation and Translation (PAMCIT) project presentation at UniMaputo, Sánchez-Benedito Gaspar acknowledged that the problem of Cabo Delgado worried everyone.

“For the future we need to strengthen our partnership” and make it “more ambitious, he said. “We must also invest in the training of trainers and work to expand opportunities.”

For his part, the dean of UniMaputo, Jorge Ferrão, said that there had been great strides in training staff to work as qualified translators and interpreters, who can themselves train students in the country and abroad.

“We have already come a long way, and we hope that, with this visit [of the EU ambassador], we will be able to find ways to increase cooperation, as one of the few courses on translation and interpretation in Mozambique,” Ferrão said.

Source: O País