Southern Africa Bloc SADC expands operations in Mozambique | Military Matters

The regional council says terrorists have advanced in the province of Cabo Delgado since the deployment of troops last year.

The Southern African bloc SADC has stepped up its efforts to send troops to Mozambique to help the country cope with the armed conflict, a statement from the conference said.

“The conference saw the positive progress that has been made since the SADC Mission in Mozambique deployed and expanded its activities,” the document read Wednesday, not saying how long it would take.

SADC countries are Rwanda confirmed June has sent more than that 3,000 soldiers to help Mozambique deal with the violence that has erupted north of Cabo Delgado.

On Tuesday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, chair of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation, said sending the SADC Mission to Mozambique (SAMIM) was showing results.

“Since the deployment … significant progress has been made,” Ramaphosa said at the opening of a two-day talks in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe.

“Security in Cabo Delgado is improving, which has allowed some refugees to return to their homes and resume their lives,” he said.

Working with the Mozambican military, local troops have helped create a “safer way” to bring aid to areas affected by violence, he said.

The project was first commissioned in July, but its work was expanded until October.

Cabo Delgado, the heaviest gas-rich region on the border with Tanzania, has been the scene of violence since 2017.

About 3,500 people have died and about 820,000 have fled their homes.

Cruelty there have been massacres, beheadings, arson, and kidnappings, especially among girls.