Botswana’s government on Monday sent 296 troops to Mozambique to join soldiers from other Southern African Development Community, or SADC, countries to quell deadly Islamist insurgency in Mozambique’s northernmost province, Cabo Delgado, reported CGTN Africa.
The 16-member region body agreed late last month to send troops to the province. It approved a $12 million budget for the deployment of the Standby Force Mission for Mozambique.
Botswana’s president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, said the troops will work with Mozambique’s armed forces and soldiers sent by other SADC countries’ forces to end the insurgency in which over 3,000 people have died since 2017.
He said the deployment of the forces is part of the region’s effort to promote stability in Mozambique.
“Today, we witness yet another milestone in our set out objectives of propelling the peace agenda through our region in following through on the SADC mandate aimed at facilitating the peaceful conditions in the northern part of the Republic of Mozambique in Cabo Delgado, in particular,” Botswana’s president said.
Botswana is the second SADC nation to send troops to Cabo Delgado, after South African soldiers landed in Mozambique last week. The SADC mission will be led by South African Maj. Gen. Xolani Mankayi.
Earlier this month, Rwanda, which is not a SADC member, had deployed 1,000 soldiers in Mozambique. As per reports, the Rwandan troops had killed 30 insurgents last week.
The insurgency in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province started in 2017 and has grown in the past year. The rebels have had the Mocimboa da Praia port under their control for nearly a year and have repeatedly attacked Palma and killed dozens of people, forcing the French energy firm Total to suspend its $20 billion liquified natural gas project there.
The World Food Program (WFP) has warned of a growing hunger crisis in the region, saying nearly 1 million people need food aid as a result of the conflict.
