Mozambique: Two LAM aircraft collide in Inhambane - AIM report
FILE - For illustration purposes only,. [File photo: CanalMoz]
Mozambique has reinforced security at “all airports” in the face of the action of armed groups in Cabo Delgado and in line with international requirements, a source from the Mozambique Civil Aviation Institute (IACM) has told Lusa.
“Certainly, there is reinforcement. The Defence and Security Forces have reinforced measures at all airports, for sure,” said IACM president João de Abreu in response to a question about the influence that the insurgency in the north has had on the rest of the country.
Abreu said that Mozambican airports were safe from any threat of attack and were operating within security standards certified by competent international entities.
“All the country’s airports comply. The Defence and Security Forces are on standby,” he declared.
In terms of airport security, he continued, “there is no negotiation” and the authorities cannot be “permissive”.
The IACM president said that, in addition to anything the action of insurgents in Cabo Delgado might necessitate, all airports were obliged to follow safety recommendations issued by international aviation authorities.
“We again urged airports to comply with the rules. This is not a specific case of such-and-such a country; these measures apply to every country in the world,” Abreu emphasised.
Regarding the reports on Monday that Beira International Airport, in Sofala province in the centre of the country, was reinforcing security measures, Abreu said that the information related to the renewal of the airport’s international certificate.
“Beira International Airport is in the process of renewing its certification and one of the requirements is compliance with security measures. No airport is certified without complying with security measures,” he stressed.
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Cabo Delgado province, in northern Mozambique, is rich in natural gas, but has been terrorized since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the Islamic State extremist group.
According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), about 784,000 persons have been internally displaced by the conflict, which has killed about 4,000, according to the ACLED conflict registry project.
Since July 2021, an offensive by government troops, with the support of Rwandan and later Southern African Development Community (SADC) troops, has recovered a number of areas from rebel control, but their flight has led to new attacks in districts through which they have passed or where they have taken up temporary refuge.
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