On October 31, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi asked the European Union (EU) for support in arms to combat terrorism in Cabo Delgado.
“That support to Mozambique is not limited only to non-lethal [equipment],” given the need to make “the Defence and Security Forces robust for combative intervention,” Nyusi asked on the sidelines of the opening of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly meeting in the Mozambican capital for three days.
The head of state also asked that financial support already allocated by the EU for military aid to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) be also granted to Rwanda, which also supports Mozambican troops in Cabo Delgado – namely in areas to which the country wants to return natural gas projects.
The EU announced in early September the allocation of €15 million (US$14.8 million) for the SADC mission, namely for field fortifications and storage containers, medical equipment, vehicles and boats, and technological devices.
This portion complements an €89 million funding allocation to Mozambique’s armed forces aimed at equipping the units trained by the EU mission in the country.
Terrorism is one of the issues on the agenda of the assembly between Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) and the EU, and MEP Carlos Zorrinho, a co-chair of the assembly, had already announced in his speech that, regarding Cabo Delgado, the EU should take further steps to support Mozambique, without concretizing.
However, “the decision is not yet taken,” and this, along with support for Rwanda, are issues “on the table” and whose outcome “in due course will be known.
One thing seems certain, according to Zorrinho: “All the signs I have are that, yes, the support to Mozambique will continue to be strong and increase”.
Cabo Delgado province has been terrorized since 2017 by armed violence, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.
The insurgency has led to a military response since a year ago with support from Rwanda and SADC, liberating districts near gas projects, but new waves of attacks have emerged south of the region and in neighboring Nampula province.
In five years, the conflict has caused one million displaced people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and about 4,000 deaths, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) conflict registration project.
With information from Lusa
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