Mozambique: Purpose of EU military training mission questioned by S. African analyst

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Mozambique: Purpose of EU military training mission questioned by S. African analyst

3:29 CAT | 05 Oct 2021

File photo: Lusa

South African military expert Abel Esterhuyse on Tuesday questioned the purpose of the military training of Mozambique’s government troops by the European Union (EU).

“He told Lusa: “I think that at this time all help is welcome and there is no doubt that they can make a credible contribution, but the question, once again, is to know what the Mozambican forces are being prepared for.

“Perhaps I am wrong, but I am not sure that there is a clear understanding, even on the part of the Europeans, about what precisely is the problem they face in Cabo Delgado,” the analyst said.

The academic, who is in charge of the department of Strategic Studies at the Faculty of Military Science at Stellenbosch University in Cabo, added: “And this is a major problem. This is perhaps the most important strategic issue for the forces and for all the actors involved.”

In the military analyst’s view, South Africa is one of the countries that is “inexplicably” close to what is going to happen in Cabo Delgado in the “next few years”.

“I think that the most important thing is that South Africa is deeply interconnected with the problems in Cabo Delgado and specifically with the problem of crime and drug trafficking,” he said.

According to Abel Esterhuyse, South Africa is in a “very difficult” situation in this context, stressing that Mozambique’s neighbour, “cannot afford not to be involved” in Cabo Delgado.

“That is one reality that South Africa faces. The other reality that South Africa faces is that if it does get involved in Cabo Delgado, it will be for a long time”.

“We have just seen the US withdrawal after 20 years in Afghanistan and I am not entirely convinced whether South Africa is at all aware that the engagement it faces in Cabo Delgado will be a long-term engagement that will probably last for 10 to 15 years,” he pointed out.

For Abel Esterhuyse, the intervention in Mozambique “will require a lot of resources”.

“This is not a quick intervention and withdrawal type solution,” the South African analyst told Lusa.

EU foreign ministers approved in July the establishment of a military training mission in Mozambique to “train and support the Mozambican Armed Forces” in “restoring security” in Cabo Delgado.

The mission aims to train Mozambican special forces companies to develop a rapid reaction force.

Since July, an offensive by Mozambican government troops with the support of Rwanda, later joined by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), allowed security to increase, recovering several areas of Cabo Delgado where there were rebels, including the town of Mocímboa da Praia, which had been occupied since August 2020.

Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas but terrorised by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

The conflict has led to more than 3,100 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and more than 817,000 displaced people, according to Mozambican authorities.

Source: Lusa