Mozambique deserves help to fight Islamic insurgents

CONSIDERING the sacrifice the late former Mozambican President Samora Machel and the people of Mozambique made towards the independence of Zimbabwe — not to mention the human and material cost they suffered — we cannot and should never stand by and watch as our neighbours are beheaded.

A misfortune that befalls a neighbour should be our business, therefore, an attack on Mozambique should be treated as an attack on Zimbabwe.

Morestill, of great commercial value for landlocked Zimbabwe in Mozambique is the Beira Corridor — our major and shortest trade route — an essential gateway for our imports and exports to and from the Indian Ocean and outside world of commerce.

Should Zimbabwe choose to ignore Mozambique’s distress calls, the repercussions will be felt in the near future when the tentacles of the insurgents grow long enough to stretch over the eastern border to reach Manicaland.

Islamic insurgency, if allowed to establish a foothold, is almost impossible to uproot. Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al Shabab in Somalia are good examples.

If the ASJW insurgency is not tackled now in its infancy, Sadc should brace up for a long brutal fight in the near future.

If unchecked, this insurgency has the potential of engulfing the region like a veld fire. The insurgency in Cabo Degaldo needs to be treated with the seriousness it deserves. Very urgent and firm action is required. The decision by Sadc to support Maputo against the insurgents, though commendable, may soon become useless unless deployment is done now and the ASJW is engaged right away. What is happening in northern Mozambique is a real war — the insurgency has so far caused the loss of over 1 000 lives and over 100 000 more have been internally displaced after having fled their villages — and strangely Harare is not even perturbed.

An attack on Mozambique is equally an attack on Zimbabwe.

Cassius Sande