Mozambique: Nyusi praises role of veterans in fighting terrorism – AIM report

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Mozambique: Nyusi praises role of veterans in fighting terrorism – AIM report

7:27 CAT | 26 Apr 2022

Photo: Frelimo Moçambique

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Sunday stressed that the veterans of Mozambique’s war for independence are playing a determinant role in securing the gains made in the fight against jihadist terrorism in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

Nyusi was speaking in the southern city of Matola at the opening of a meeting of the National Committee of the Association of Veterans of the National Liberation Struggle (ACLLN), called to draw up the balance of the ACLLN five year programme for 2017-2022, in preparation for the Association’s sixth national conference.

As President of the ruling Frelimo Party, Nyusi is also chairperson of the ACLLN.

“We are holding this meeting at a special moment, when our country is registering encouraging signs in various areas”, he declared. “Although volatile attacks continue in some parts of Cabo Delgado province, we are pleased to note the positive evolution in the struggle against terrorism and extremism thanks to the determination of our defence and security forces”.

The gradual resumption of social and economic life in areas once severely hit by terrorism, he said, was due, not only to the support of the troops from Rwanda and from SADC (Southern African Development Community, but also to the involvement of the veterans who have lent their experience to the Mozambican forces and their allies

“In this fight against terrorism, apart from the intense intervention of the Rwanda Defence Force and the significant support of the SADC Stand-by Force, I would like to praise the direct involvement of the veterans of the national liberation struggle who have decided to make use of their experience to end the murders, kidnappings, rapes, destruction of infrastructures and all the heinous crimes perpetrated by groups of terrorists since October 2017”, Nyusi declared.

Among the results of the collaboration between the defence forces and the veterans, Nyusi stressed in particular an operation on 29 March at Nambugali, in the Ngapa administrative post, Mueda district, in which “a considerable number of terrorists” were killed and a variety of weaponry was captured, including bazookas and AK-47 assault rifles.

This particular operation, Nyusi said, was undertaken exclusively by veterans of the liberation struggle.

Speaking of the current stage of economic recovery, following the relaxation of the restrictive measures introduced to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, Nyusi said the country still faces shocks imposed by recent natural disasters, and by the rises in the world market prices of fuel and grain. To cope with these problems, he called for an increase in domestic production to reduce external dependency.

At the end of the one day meeting, Nyusi said the implementation of the ACLLN five year programme had played a role in the maintenance of peace, unity and national reconciliation. The Association, he claimed, had grown in both qualitative and quantitative terms.

The National Committee, he continued, had recognised that, although they still persist, challenges concerning the rights of veterans “are being proactively solved”. Nyusi called for these challenges to be handled with greater speed.

The Committee had also stressed the importance of continuing to invest in the education of ACLLN members and their descendants, using technical and professional courses which would make it possible to set up small businesses or go into self-employment.

Source: AIM