The Rwandan government on Friday said it would deploy 1,000 security personnel in norther Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province to help fight an Islamic extremist insurgency that has forced more than 70,000 people to flee for their lives, reported Africa News.
The announcement came after the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) approved last month the deployment of joint forces to help Mozambique. Notably, Rwanda is not a member of the 16-country bloc.
According to a statement published on the Rwandan government’s official website, the deployment would start immediately and was being done at the request of the Mozambican government.
The statement added that the Rwandan troops will work closely with both the Mozambique Armed Defence Forces (FADM) as well as the troops deployed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. The forces will support efforts to restore Mozambican state authority by conducting combat and security operations, as well as stabilization and security-sector reform.
The Rwandan intervention comes as insurgent attacks in northern Cabo Delgado region have intensified in recent years. In 2020, Islamist extremists even seized parts of the province, including the city of Mocimboa da Praia.
In March, the Islamic militants took control of the coastal town of Palma for several days, displacing more than 35,000 civilians and forcing the French energy firm Total to suspend its $20 billion liquefied natural gas project from the area.
The violence in northern Mozambique has led to the death of more than 2000 innocent civilians. The World Food Program (WFP) has also warned of a growing hunger crisis in the country as nearly 1 million people are in need of food aid.
Rwanda is a major contributor to the UN’s peacekeeping force in the Central African Republic and last year sent hundreds of troops to the unstable country after an alleged attempted coup.
