Mozambique: SADC commission working on counter-terrorism needs – AIM report

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Mozambique: SADC commission working on counter-terrorism needs – AIM report

8:10 CAT | 20 Apr 2021

FILE - Defence Ministry, Maputo. [File photo: mozamblog]

A technical commission from the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has been working in Mozambique since last Thursday to assess the country’s needs in confronting terrorism in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

A source in the Mozambican Foreign Ministry, cited in Monday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”, confirmed the presence of the SADC team, and said it has been working with the Ministry of Defence to determine the next steps.

“The work of these experts will be done in close collaboration with the national defence sector, which is in the best condition to present the real situation in Cabo Delgado, to determine the support that should be given to the country”, said the source.

Sending the technical commission to Mozambique was one of the decisions taken at the extraordinary summit of the SADC “Double Troika” held in Maputo on 8 April. One of the two troikas consists of the current, incoming and outgoing chairs of SADC (namely Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania), while the second is formed by the current, incoming and outgoing chairs of the SADC organ for politics, defence and security cooperation (Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe).

The summit was called in the wake of the islamist terrorist attack of 24 March against the town of Palma and its final communiqué declared that “such heinous attacks cannot be allowed to continue without a proportionate regional response”.

The summit ordered “an immediate technical deployment” to Mozambique. The technical commission is expected to report to an Extraordinary Meeting of the Ministerial Committee of the Defence and Security Organ, immediately prior to an Extraordinary Organ Troika summit scheduled for 29 April.

Mozambican Defence Minister Jaime Neto has promised that the government is committed to rebuilding Palma, telling reporters that a survey is under way of all the damage done by the terrorists.

The ruling Frelimo Party demonstrated its commitment to Palma by sending a delegation headed by its general secretary, Roque Silva, to the ruined town on Sunday. Silva addressed a large rally at which, judging by the footage, thousands of people were present.

Hence, despite the ravages of the terrorists many of the local residents have not fled from Palma, but are still living in the immediate vicinity.

Silva assured the crowd that the government and Frelimo will do all in their power to defeat terrorism. “President Nyusi and the Frelimo government are doing everything to end this terrorist movement so that you can resume your lives in normality and calm”, he said.

He urged the public “to remain confident in our defence and security force since, as you have seen, it is thanks to our forces that the worst did not happen in Palma”.

Silva then visited Quitunda, some 15 kilometres from Palma town, which currently houses thousands of people displaced by the jihadists. Here he delivered a gift of 20 tonnes of foodstuffs, to alleviate the suffering of the displaced. (When journalists visited Quitunda last week, the first thing the crowd told them was “We’re hungry!”).

Later in the day Silva’s delegation visited a resettlement centre in Chiure district, in the south of the province, where more than 700 households who have fled from the terrorist attacks are currently living.

Source: AIM