Mozambique: Inspector General of Defence asks for population’s collaboration

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Mozambique: Inspector General of Defence asks for population’s collaboration

8:36 CAT | 04 Jun 2020

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

Mozambique’s new National Defence Inspector General, Víctor Muirequetule, on Thursday said that the people’s collaboration is essential to defeating the armed groups that are leading attacks in the north of the country.

The fight in Cabo Delgado province deserves and needs a lot of collaboration, Víctor Muirequetule said in a statement moments after taking office.

The new inspector general who holds the rank of major general considered that success in the fight against armed groups also depends on the socio-anthropological understanding of communities in conflict areas.

Victor Muirequetule pointed out that the complexity of the situation could lead those who are not on the ground to think that the Defence and Security Forces were not doing their job.

“War is war, but we want to believe that with the commitment of the populations, we will achieve success in the area where we are acting,” he said.

The minister of national defence of Mozambique, Jaime Neto, participated in the inauguration of the new Inspector General of National Defence and other cadres of the sector but did not give statements to the media.

During the official speech, in the only allusion to armed violence in Cabo Delgado and the centre of the country, Jaime Neto appealed to the incumbents to help the Defence and Security Forces to maintain combative readiness in the two regions in conflict.

Cabo Delgado, the province where the largest private investment in Africa is being made for natural gas exploration, has been under attack since October 2017 by insurgents classified since the beginning of the year by Mozambican and international authorities as a terrorist threat.

For a year now, the jihadist Islamic State group has been claiming some of the incursions.

In two and a half years of conflict, it is estimated that at least 600 people have died and about 200,000 have been affected, being forced to take refuge in safer places, losing their homes, gardens, and other property.

Since March, terrorist groups have occupied important towns like Mocímboa da Praia, Muidumbe, Quissanga and Macomia for several days.

In the centre of the country armed incursions attributed to a dissidence of the Renamo guerrilla, the main opposition party, have targeted security forces and civilians in villages and on some stretches of road in the region since August 2019, causing more than 20 deaths and several injuries, in addition to the destruction of vehicles and other infrastructure.

Source: Lusa