The outgoing commander of the European Union (EU) Training Mission in Mozambique, João Gonçalves, admitted on Wednesday 11 September that the Mozambican army is facing an ‘extremely difficult fight’ in Cabo Delgado province, describing terrorism as a ‘difficult conflict’.
‘In Cabo Delgado, a difficult and asymmetrical conflict is taking place, in which on one side there are forces that represent the Mozambican state, and on the other there are insurgents who don’t follow any rules of conduct, don’t respect the most basic values of international law, humanitarian law and practise the greatest barbarities,’ declared the major-general.
He emphasised that the terrorists operating in that area of the country have already started recruiting children to form their bases.
The statements were made in Maputo, during the transfer of command ceremony of the EU training mission, which has been renamed the European Union Military Assistance Mission in Mozambique and is now commanded by Brigadier General Luís Barroso, also Portuguese.
On the occasion, Gonçalves revealed that the mission he led was responsible for training 1,700 national military personnel who are on the front line fighting the insurgency, adding that the training is constantly updated so that they can respond to the challenges imposed on the ground.
‘The impact of the training is positive, because we have better prepared Mozambican soldiers to face this harsh reality: facing someone who doesn’t follow any rules and has no scruples whatsoever.
The soldiers we train are equipped with the rules and authority of the state,’ he said.
For his part, the Chief of Staff of the Mozambican Armed Forces, Joaquim Mangrasse, reiterated that the situation on the ground is under control, emphasising the importance of the support provided by European countries in terms of training and non-lethal equipment.
‘The EU mission has enabled training and also the supply of non-lethal equipment, which is being used sustainably to guarantee its life cycle,’ he said.
‘In Cabo Delgado, a difficult and asymmetrical conflict is taking place, in which on one side there are forces representing the Mozambican state and, on the other, there are insurgents who do not follow any rules of conduct, do not respect the most basic values of international, humanitarian law and practise the greatest barbarities’
The EU training mission in Mozambique, led by Portugal, includes 119 soldiers from 13 member states, more than half of them Portuguese, but has the particularity of having two other non-EU countries contributing one soldier each, Serbia and Cape Verde.
The European Union announced the adaptation of the mission’s strategic objectives, which will change from a training model to one of assistance, thus changing its name to EU Military Assistance Mission in Mozambique, with effect from 1 September this year.
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.
