Mozambique: Southern African states should upgrade terrorism laws – minister

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Mozambique: Southern African states should upgrade terrorism laws – minister

2:26 CAT | 29 Aug 2024

Photo: Ministério da Defesa Nacional - Moçambique

The Mozambican defence minister has argued that southern African countries should improve legislation on terrorism, considering the exchange of experiences and adopting a holistic approach fundamental to curbing insurgency in the region.

“There is a need to improve and make legislation on terrorism more flexible, to exchange experiences on this matter at a regional level, as well as the vision that was had on adopting a holistic approach to combating terrorism in the region and on the continent,” Cristóvão Chume declared.

The defence minister was speaking during a conference on conflict prevention of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which began on Wednesday in Maputo, bringing together experts, governments and civil society in the Mozambican capital.

For Chume, the support that Mozambique received from SADC in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado had delivered remarkable results, especially the deactivation of terrorist bases in Muidumbe, Nangade and Macomi districts, among those most affected by rebel incursions in the northern province.

“The [terrorist] bases were destroyed throughout the region where the SADC Military Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) was present. (…) Diverse military material was captured, from the terrorists including tactical and doctrinal manuals. We also managed to eliminate the main operational commanders and to rescue women, children and elderly people who had been kidnapped and were found in the terrorist bases,” Chume declared.

On 4 July, the Southern African Development Community Military Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) at the end of their mission handed over to the Mozambican authorities various military material captured from terrorists in the province of Cabo Delgado.

SAMIM had been in Cabo Delgado since mid-2021 and, in August 2023, the SADC approved an extension for another 12 months, until July of this year, with a progressive withdrawal plan in place. The mission comprised troops from eight SADC countries, “working in collaboration with the Mozambique Defence Forces and other troops deployed to Cabo Delgado”.

Since October 2017, the gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed rebellion with attacks claimed by movements associated with the extremist group Islamic State. The last major attack took place on 10 and 11 May, on the district headquarters of Macomia, with around a hundred insurgents looting the town, causing several deaths and heavy fighting with the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces and the Rwandan military, which also supports Mozambique in fighting the rebels.

Since the beginning of August, different sources on the ground, including the Local Force, have reported intense clashes in the forests of the Mucojo administrative post (Macomia), involving helicopters, armoured vehicles and heavily armed men, with reports of shootings in places considered hideouts for these groups.

Source: Lusa