Maputo, 19 Feb (AIM) – Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has found it “strange” that the French authorities have placed the northern province of Cabo Delgado on a “red map of insecurity”, following the intensification of terrorist attacks in some districts of that province.
The president was reacting to a statement issued by the French government on Thursday, in which Paris “strongly recommend its citizens not to travel to Mocímboa da Praia, Pemba and Palma, as well as on the roads linking these locations, due to the presence of a terrorist and kidnapping threat.”
According to Nyusi, who was speaking on Sunday on the sidelines of the 37th African Union Summit, which took place in Addis Ababa, “every country has an agenda and the agenda is aligned and included. There must be some reason why an announcement was made.”
The President believes that it was to be expected that the French authorities, given their friendship with Mozambique, would decide to support and work with the Mozambican authorities to combat the terrorist threat. However the French Embassy in Mozambique is appealing to French citizens not to travel to Cabo Delgado.
According to Nyusi, the French statement comes at a time when the country is “working hard to prove to the world that Mozambique is committed to its partners in the fight against terrorism”.
The French alert also includes a recommendation against travelling to the Nampula districts of Mecuburi, Erati, Memba, Nacarôa, and parts of the districts of Muecate, Monapo and Nacala (although there have been no terrorist attacks in any of these places).
At one point in his remarks, Nyusi even suggested that the French alert might not be authentic, or was an old statement awaiting an appropriate moment for its release.
In April 2021, the French oil and gas company, TotalEnergies, declared force majeure to suspend all activities on its liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, due to a major terrorist raid against the town of Palma.
However, recently, the management of TotalEnergies, has expressed its willingness to resume operations as a result of the improvement in security conditions.
(AIM)
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