Mozambique: Minister calls for funding of peace operations in Africa

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Mozambique: Minister calls for funding of peace operations in Africa

4:17 CAT | 19 Mar 2021

Image: Twitter / @lcbc_cblt

Mozambique’s minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Verónica Macamo, on Thursday called for funding of peace operations in Africa in the face of the emergence of “hotbeds of terrorism” on the continent.

“The financing of peace operations in Africa is crucial, because, as a continent, we are affected by the proliferation of terrorism and violent extremism,” Minister Macamo said during a virtual meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council.

For Macamo, the emergence of “hotbeds of terrorism” in African countries requires a concerted approach towards protecting people from an “odious phenomenon”.

“They spread terror, perpetrating massacres against innocent people, and promoting the rampant destruction of social and economic infrastructures,” she said.

The African Union and the United Nations need to strengthen cooperation, but Macamo also warned that African countries must honour their commitments as members of the organisation. “We have to find effective mechanisms to ensure that countries in Africa honour their commitments to the African Union Peace Fund,” she said.

For three years, the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces have been fighting armed groups classified as a terrorist threat in Cabo Delgado, which is home to Africa’s largest private – natural gas – multinational investment.

The armed conflict has caused a humanitarian crisis with more than 2,000 deaths and 670,000 people displaced without basic conditions.

Between June 2019 and November 2020, some of the incursions in the more northerly districts of the province were claimed by the jihadist ‘Islamic State’ group, but the true origins of the conflict are still a matter of debate.

Source: Lusa