Mozambique: EUTM finishes training of first two military companies

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Mozambique: EUTM finishes training of first two military companies

12:05 CAT | 21 Mar 2022

Photo: Presidência de Portugal

The first two Mozambican special operations companies formed by the European Union (EU) mission will complete their training this Monday, Brigadier General Nuno Lemos Pires of the Portuguese Army, commander on the ground, announced on Sunday (20-3).

Each company, one from the Navy, trained in Katembe, near Maputo, and another from the Army, trained in Chimoio in the centre of the country, has 130 elements ready to join the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country.

The training of the first group of six tactical air controllers, to be integrated either into Navy or Army contingents and oversee air support for missions, will end at the same time.

Details were given to journalists on the sidelines of the visit of Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to the training base in Chimoio.

Fin de mission au Mozambique 🇲🇿 pour finaliser les modalités de contribution des @FAZSOI_Officiel 🇫🇷 à la mission @EUTMMozambique. #EuropeDefense @2eRpima pic.twitter.com/uAvvQfT2Hi

— chef de corps 2eRPIMa (@2eRPIMa_CDC) March 10, 2022

The European Union Training Mission (EUTM) officially started in November, 2021, with an expected duration of two years, and will host 140 military trainers over the period.

The mission responds to the request for help from the Mozambican government to prepare 1,100 Mozambican officers, sergeants and soldiers – six Army and five Navy special operations companies – for service in Cabo Delgado.

Of these 11 companies, two have already been deployed to the province, having been trained in 2021, before the launch of the EUTM, under a bilateral defence agreement between Portugal and Mozambique.

The EU mission has now “strengthened” cooperation, Lemos Pires said.

The EUTM, to which ten EU member states are currently committed, works in cycles of four months for each company. The largest training contingent is Portuguese – as is the commander of the mission on the ground.

The training consists of “operational and military training, but also focuses on training in the area of human rights and international law in conflicts,” Pires stressed.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of Portugal yesterday highlighted the importance of training, since victory over terrorism in the northern province of Cabo Delgado could only be considered complete once daily life is restored without limitations.

“Total victory means allowing populations to carry out their activities normally, without the threat of terrorism,” he said, referring to a region of around 860,000 inhabitants currently experiencing a serious humanitarian crisis.

On Saturday, during a visit to another EUTM training centre, in Katembe, the President of Portugal said that a field hospital was being planned to support Mozambican troops in Cabo Delgado, and that approved non-lethal military equipment would arrive soon.

In answers to journalists, Rebelo de Sousa also said in Maputo on Friday that he would visit Cabo Delgado province if President Nyusi extended such an invitation.

The Cabo Delgado region is rich in natural gas, but has been terrorized since 2017 by armed rebels in a conflict that has already claimed at least 3,100 lives , with some attacks claimed by the Islamic State extremist group.

Since July 2021, an offensive by government troops with the support of Rwanda, later joined by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), has increased security, recovering several areas, but the flight of insurgents has led to new attacks in districts used as passage or temporary refuge.