Mozambique: Army training young Mozambicans to replace SADC forces

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Mozambique: Army training young Mozambicans to replace SADC forces

8:10 CAT | 22 Dec 2023

FILE - For illustration purposes only [File photo: Lusa]

Mozambique is training young recruits to replace the departing Southern African Development Community Mission (SAMIM) in Cabo Delgado, the commander of the Mozambican army announced.

“What we are doing is continuing the training of young Mozambicans, after all it is the role of Mozambicans to guarantee the security of this country and its people,” declared Tiago Nampele, quoted this Friday by Televisão de Moçambique (TVM). “It is our role to train [young people] to take the place where the [departing] SADC contingent leaves a void.”

The SADC Mission in Mozambique, which is expected to start leaving Cabo Delgado this month, arrived in August, 2021, to support Mozambican forces in the fight against the rebels terrorizing the province since 2017, with an initial mandate of three months, subsequently extended several times.

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With the support of SADC and Rwandan forces, which arrived in July of that same year, the Maputo military offensive installed a climate of security in the region that had not been felt for years, recovering locations that were controlled by the rebels, such as the village of Mocímboa da Praia, which had been occupied since 2020.

According to the commander of the Mozambican army, the rebels have currently opted for isolated incursions, and the authorities suspect that they are installed in small groups on the banks of the Messalo River, between Muidumbe and Macomia, in the north of the province.

“The terrorists are now in an already known area, although they do not have a fixed base. They are in small camps and in small groups, which are understood to be more flexible. When they notice our presence, they disperse,” he declared.

The Mozambican army considers that security has been re-established in around 90% of the province, arguing that conditions exist for the return of private enterprise, including the French oil company Total, which leads the Area 1 consortium, a €20 billion gas exploration investment in Afungi.

Work there was suspended indefinitely after an armed attack on Palma in March, 2021, when the French energy company declared that it would only resume work when the area was safe.

The province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed insurgency for six years with attacks claimed by the extremist Islamic State group and its affiliates.

The conflict has already displaced one million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and caused around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

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Source: Lusa