Mozambique insurgency threatens stability in region
THE insurgency in Mozambique could lead to a spillover and instability in southern Africa if left unattended, says Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, the Botswanan president and chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) organ on politics, defence and security co-operation.
He told Radio Botswana this week that it was important for the SADC to intervene, to prevent the three-yearold insurgency in northern Mozambique from spilling over the country’s borders.
Islamic State-backed terrorists launched an attack on the town of Palma in the northern province of Cabo Delgado on March 24, killing at least 12 people, including a South African and a Zimbabwean.
More than 100 000 people fled the area for their lives.
Masisi said the terrorist attacks in northern Mozambique could not be allowed to continue without a proportionate regional response.
The attacks, he said, were an affront to peace and security not only in Mozambique, but in the SADC region and the international community.
At the SADC troika summit of the heads of state and government on April 8, it was resolved to deploy a technical team with immediate effect to Mozambique.
The team would assess the threat that Islamist militants pose to Mozambique and, from there, would determine how to respond to the insurgency.
In August last year, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) said that SADC and the AU should urgently assist Mozambique to stem the violent insurgency in Cabo Delgado and bring relief to thousands of people in dire need.
“The security situation in northern Mozambique is deteriorating at an alarming rate. Attacks by violent extremists have claimed over 1 000 lives and displaced 250 000 people since October 2017. Infrastructure has been destroyed and citizens robbed of their livelihoods,” the policy institute said. The ISS said military action by the Mozambican government, including the continued use of mercenaries, had not stopped the attacks and had worsened the plight of civilians.
“Left unchecked, the insurgency is likely to grow and spill over into neighbouring countries… Mozambique should not be expected to deal with a potential regional security threat of this gravity alone. As a member of SADC and the AU, it has recourse to regional and continental support,” it said.
In its March 2 report on the conflict in Cabo Delgad, NGO Amnesty International said hundreds of civilians in Mozambique had been killed by the armed group al-shabaab, as well as government security forces and a private military company hired by the government.
“The people of Cabo Delgado are caught between the Mozambican security forces, the private militia fighting alongside the government and the armed opposition group locally known as al-shabaab – none of which respect their right to life, or the rules of war,” Amnesty International regional director for east and southern Africa Deprose Muchena said.
He said the international community had failed to address the crisis as it had escalated into full-blown armed conflict over the past three years.
Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi told state-run television station TVM that the insurgents had been forced out of Palma.
He said the government had made its needs clear to the international community to deal with terrorism, adding that those who came from outside would offer support and not replace them.
A ministerial meeting committee was expected to meet on April 28 to table a report at another double troika summit planned for April 29 in Maputo, Mozambique.