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Mozambique: Joint force makes gains in fight to get control of Mocímboa da Praia
11:57 CAT | 05 Aug 2021
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The joint forces of Mozambique and Rwanda have “control” of rebel positions gained in recent days in Mocímboa da Praia and the aim is to regain the town’s headquarters, which have been dominated by insurgents for months, an official source said.
“The situation is calm and controlled here. The Mozambican force with the Rwandans are fighting terrorism and we are going forward,” Aiuba Amade, one of the commanders of the Mozambique Police Rapid Intervention Unit who is in the locality of Awassi, one of the “important” points of the rebels recaptured in recent days by the joint force, told the media.
As well as Awassi, about 50 kilometres from the main town, the joint force has occupied the insurgents’ positions in Diaca, seizing various weapons from the rebels and shooting several, a source linked to the Ministry of Defence told Lusa on Tuesday.
The commander-general of the Mozambican police, Bernardino Rafael, remains on the ground and on Wednesday called for unity between the forces of the two countries in operations aimed at eliminating terrorist groups in the region.
“We have no deadline to end this fight against terrorism, but we will work at all costs to return peace to the Mozambican people, especially in these affected districts,” Bernardino Rafael said.
The coastal town of Mocímboa da Praia, seen by many as the “base” of the insurgents, is one of the main towns in the north of Cabo Delgado province, 70 kilometres south of the construction area of the natural gas exploration project led by several international oil companies and headed by Total.
The town had been invaded and occupied for a day by rebels on 23 March last year, in an action later claimed by the ‘jihadist’ group Islamic State, and was, on 27 and 28 June of that year, the scene of long clashes between government forces and insurgent groups, which led to the flight of a considerable part of the population.
Since the beginning of the month, the Mozambican defence and security forces have had the support of a thousand Rwandan soldiers and police officers in the fight against the armed groups, under a bilateral agreement between the Mozambican government and the Kigali authorities.
As well as Rwanda, Mozambique now has support from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in a mandate for a “joint force on standby” approved on 23 June at an extraordinary summit of the organisation in Maputo.
The total number of troops that the organisation will send to Mozambique is not publicly known, but SADC experts, who were in Cabo Delgado, said in April that the mission would be made up of around 3,000 soldiers.
More than 817,000 have been displaced according to Mozambican authorities.
Source: Lusa
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