Tomaz Salomão is against sending foreign troops to Cabo Delgado – Watch

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Tomaz Salomão is against sending foreign troops to Cabo Delgado – Watch

7:36 CAT | 12 Apr 2021

Photo; TVM

The former executive secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Mozambican Tomaz Salomão, advises against the sending of foreign troops to combat terrorism in Cabo Delgado for the time being.

In an interview with Televisão de Moçambique broadcast this Sunday, Tomaz Salomão says that any support must be made available under the terms presented by the government.

“Give support on the terms requested by the Government of Mozambique, especially logistics and training. Experience shows that, with the presence of foreign troops in territory, once this happens, the troops enter and never leave. We here in Mozambique have already had foreign troops. I remember that the President of the Republic, at that time, Joaquim Chissano, had to go to a meeting in Zambézia with the population and what the population wanted was the withdrawal of foreign troops. So, it is up to this country called Mozambique to be itself building its defence and defending itself,” he said.

The former SADC executive secretary also said it was strange that the attack carried out on the village of Palma by the terrorists on 24 March happened shortly after the Total oil company announced the resumption of activities in Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin, security conditions having been restored.

“The government and Total announce, ‘We are going to resume work – conditions are created after an interregnum’. Two days later there is an attack, which means that this attack was already planned and prepared, and was only waiting for the moment to ‘press the trigger’,” he observed.

Watch the TVM report below.