The Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Wednesday agreed to deploy troops to Mozambique to help control escalating violence in the northern part of the country, reported Africa News.
At the end of a one-day summit in Maputo on Wednesday, Stergomena Tax, the executive secretary of the 16-member bloc of southern African countries, said the bloc approved the deployment of the “SADC Standby Force in support of Mozambique to combat terrorism and acts of violent extremism in Cabo Delgado.”
The SADC standby force is part of a regional defense pact that allows military intervention to prevent the spread of conflict.
The meeting was attended by leaders of Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe in Maputo.
The communiqué released after the meeting of the Southern African nations’ leaders shared no further details on how many troops would be involved when they would be deployed, or what their role would be. It added only that humanitarian aid must be channeled to those most in need.
The decision brings an end to months of deliberation and disagreement among the Southern African nations about what should be done to tackle the violence.
The violence has escalated in the north of Mozambique since it erupted in late 2017 and it is feared that it could spill over into neighboring countries.
Since August 2020, the fighters have been in control of the key port town of Mocimboa da Praia. On March 24, Islamic State-linked militants carried out coordinated attacks on the northern town of Palma, ransacking buildings and murdering residents as thousands fled into the surrounding forests.
The attack marked an intensification of violence and has forced more than 800,000 people to flee from their homes, according to the United Nations. The attacks have claimed the lives of more than 2,800 people, half of them civilians.
