Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said today that Mozambicans should be responsible for the country’s defence, given the ongoing withdrawal of Cabo Delgado province from the military mission of southern African countries.
“We Mozambicans are largely responsible for Mozambique’s defence. Our friends will help us. I have said that we are now in a phase of capacity building, building resistance, stabilising the country after the problems have recovered,” explained the head of state, speaking to journalists at the end of a visit to Washington about the situation in Cabo Delgado, a province that has been the scene of terrorist attacks over the last six years.
Botswana’s military contingent began withdrawing on 5 April from Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, marking the beginning of the exit of the Southern African Development Community Mission (SAMIM), which was fighting terrorism in that province.
When asked about the ongoing withdrawal of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) mission, scheduled until July, and the possibility of reinforcing the Rwandan military contingent in the province, the Mozambican President declined to give details.
“We’re not going to explain how we’re going to work there,” said Nyusi, guaranteeing only that Mozambique is in the process of training the national Defence and Security Forces, while “humanitarian assistance” and the “reconstruction of those areas that have been destroyed” are underway.
Faced with the possibility, admitted by Rwanda, of reinforcing the current contingent of more than 2,000 men in Cabo Delgado, the Mozambican opposition has been criticising this military presence in the country, claiming that it was not discussed in parliament.
“To say that this has not been discussed in parliament, even the deaths that are being inflicted have not been discussed in parliament,” he joked, guaranteeing that the presence of these troops is the result of previous military agreements and that the presence of the SAMIM mission has not been discussed in parliament either.
SAMIM has been in Cabo Delgado since mid-2021 and, in August 2023, SADC approved its extension for a further 12 months, until July 2024, providing for a gradual withdrawal plan.
SAMIM comprises troops from eight SADC contributing countries, namely Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, the Republic of Tanzania and Zambia, “working in collaboration with the Mozambique Armed Defence Forces and other troops deployed to Cabo Delgado”.
The Mozambican government said on 26 March that the current state of the war against rebels in Cabo Delgado province justified the withdrawal of that military mission.
“The situation we find ourselves in now is very different from the one we were in when this force came to Mozambique. The current situation already justifies its withdrawal,” said Filimão Suaze, spokesman for the Mozambican government, moments after a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Maputo.
The Mozambican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation announced on 23 March that the SADC troops would be leaving the country due to financial constraints.
“SAMIM is facing some financial problems and we [Mozambique] also have to take care of our troops and we would find it difficult to pay for SAMIM. Countries aren’t managing to put up the necessary money,” said Verónica Macamo.
According to the government spokesman, the withdrawal of SADC troops has always been on the table and there is nothing to stop the government from requesting the mission again if it deems it necessary.
“These missions always have a deadline for their start and end (…). We hope that all the assumptions are met so that by the end of July this force will have returned, and there is nothing to prevent it from returning to Mozambique if it deems it necessary,” added the spokesman for the Mozambican executive.
