The Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, this Thursday, September 21, in Washington, asked for “more support” from the United States of America for the Mozambican military and the forces of the countries that are fighting terrorism in Cabo Delgado province.
After giving a lecture at the National War College in Washington, where he discussed Mozambique’s experience in post-conflict reconstruction processes, as well as natural disasters, the Mozambican head of state said that progress in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado would be much more advanced “if we had more resources”.
“In view of this, I have asked for more support from the United States for the efforts of the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces, but also from the friendly troops from Rwanda and the SADC [Southern African Development Community] Military Mission, which are currently in Cabo Delgado fighting the enemies of our development,” he explained in a message released after the speech, emphasizing that “we want to continue to achieve success in eradicating terrorism from our country.”
Filipe Nyusi had already said on Tuesday in New York that the support Mozambique is receiving in the fight against terrorism is an example of how Africa can solve its problems, but pointed out that the forces on the ground need funding.
“This pioneering experience of combining bilateral and multilateral intervention is also an example of African problems being solved by Africans themselves. However, the question that arises is the need for substantial support for these countries that are directly and actively fighting terrorism with us in Mozambique, in order to make the operations that are still underway sustainable,” said Filipe Nyusi, speaking at the 78th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
He also acknowledged that “the Defense and Security Forces have been achieving visible successes on the ground, despite the fact that terrorists continue to create terror and fear sporadically in isolated villages”. Therefore, “with the improvement in order and tranquillity, the populations have been massively returning to their areas of origin, resuming their lives with normality”.
At the moment, according to Nyusi, the challenge is to rebuild the infrastructure and consolidate social cohesion”.
The province of Cabo Delgado has been affected by a conflict since 2017 that has terrified the population. Groups of armed rebels have pillaged and massacred villages and towns all over the province and a variety of attacks have been claimed by the ‘arm’ of the self-proclaimed Islamic State in that region. The conflict has already caused more than 4,000 deaths (data from The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project) and at least one million displaced people, according to an assessment made by the Mozambican authorities.
At the moment, according to Nyusi, the challenge is to rebuild the infrastructure and consolidate social cohesion”.
