
Nyusi profere seu discurso na abertura abertura da III Sessão Ordinária do Comité Central da Frelimo
Maputo, 5 Apr (AIM) – Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Thursday praised the support given by the militia known as the “local force”, formed mostly by veterans of the independence war and their dependents, to the regular armed forces in blocking the advance of islamist terrorists in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
Speaking in his capacity as President of the ruling Frelimo Party, at the opening session of a meeting of the National Committee of the Association of Veterans of the National Liberation Struggle (ACLLN), Nyusi said “the local force has contributed to blocking the wave of massacres, the destruction of infrastructures and the displacement of thousands of families because of terrorist attacks. They are veteran fighters and their sons and they are willing to fight”.
Nyusi said that the terrorist raids are a threat to the peace, security and stability of the country, and to the unity of the nation. Imbued with the same patriotic spirit they had shown in the past, the veterans had decided to organize themselves into a local force standing side by side with the Mozambican defence and security forces and their allies in the fight against terrorism.
The Local Force, he continued, had proved willing to operate as an advance group, to participate in reconnaissance, and to protect objects of interest to the communities.
The Local Force had also imposed heavy losses on the terrorists in Cabo Delgado, and some of the jihadist leaders had been killed by these veterans of the liberation struggle.
The government, Nyusi said, had therefore decided to recognize the Local Force as “an exceptional and temporary grouping of Mozambican citizens belonging to a particular community, who organize themselves voluntarily for self-defence against the threats to sovereignty and to territorial integrity”.
The government has also approved a monthly allowance and other types of assistance to members of the Local Force in order to raise their morale.
“We are aware that we need to invest in the defence of the country in a structured manner. The country is ours, and it is our responsibility to defend it”, Nyusi declared. “So before you (the veterans) we want to recognize and praise the courage of the children of Mozambique who today are still committed to defending our independence and sovereignty”.
(AIM)
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