Mozambique: Portugal to send special forces military trainers ‘from early April’ – Lusa

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Mozambique: Portugal to send special forces military trainers ‘from early April’ – Lusa

4:42 CAT | 30 Mar 2021

File photo: Lusa

The first members of a Portuguese military contingent that is to help train Mozambique’s forces are to set off in the first half of April, a source at Portugal’s Ministry of Defence has confirmed to Lusa.

The contingent of 60 soldiers, from Portugal’s special forces, is being sent under a new framework agreement for bilateral cooperation that is being finalised by the two countries’ ministries, said a source from Portugal’s Ministry of Defence.

In an interview with Lusa published on 17 February, the minister, João Gomes Cravinho, said that a contingent of around 60 “special forces” was to be deployed in Mozambique, to provide training and preparation to the African country’s forces in their fight against armed rebels.

“What we are going to deploy are trainers to train marines and commandos,” Gomes Cravinho said, stressing that planning was underway with the Mozambique authorities. “They are soldiers who have these skills – special forces.”

Mozambique’s defence minister had already signalled to Portugal’s government his intention to visit the former colonial power, but no dates have yet been set, according to the same source in Lisbon.

On the new framework agreement for expert military cooperation between Portugal and Mozambique, which is to be in force for three years, Gomes Cravinho said this did not include any major changes of content from past agreements, but represented an “intensification” of cooperation in the current context of threats.

Military cooperation between Portugal and Mozambique has existed since 1988.

As for where the contingent is to be sent, the idea is for it to be based in the south of the country, near Maputo, and in the centre, Portugal’s minister said at the time.

The province of Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique, has for the last three years been the target of attacks by armed rebels, the latest of which took place on 24 April in Palma district, with dozens of civilians killed, according to the Mozambique authorities.

Years of violence has caused a humanitarian crisis with almost 700,000 people displaced and over 2,000 deaths.

A local affiliate of the Islamic State on Monday claimed control of the town of Palma, near the border with Tanzania

Several countries have offered military support to Maputo to fight the insurgents; there are also reports that point to the presence of security companies and mercenaries in the area.