Maputo, 29 Aug (AIM) – The Mozambican Minister of Defence, Cristóvão Chume, believes that the Southern African Development Community Military Mission (SAMIM), during the time it was supporting Mozambique in the fight against Islamist terrorism in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, enhanced strategies that may be used in other military missions in the region.
According to Chume, who was speaking on Wednesday, at the opening ceremony of the “SAMIM: Lessons Learnt” Conference, a two-day event taking place in Maputo, SAMIM’s intervention was timely, as it helped to control the escalation of terrorist incursions in the mission’s areas of operational responsibility.
The Mission was set up, on 15 July 2021, following its approval by an Extraordinary Summit of SADC Heads of State and Governments with the aim of supporting the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces (FDS) in the fight against terrorism. Its mandate expired in July.
However, the Mozambican forces, on a bilateral basis, now count on the support of forces from Rwanda and Tanzania.
The minister explained that SAMIM was successful in stopping the enemy’s incursions into Macomia district, which along with Mocímboa da Praia district, was the terrorists’ main base and operational centre of gravity.
“In addition to the destruction of the terrorists’ central bases in Macomia and intermediate bases throughout the area of operational responsibility, they recaptured and cut the terrorists’ logistical resupply lines”, he said.
He added that SAMIM made clear the need to improve and make Mozambican legislation on terrorism more flexible by exchanging experiences at regional level on the subject.
“In the social field, SAMIM strengthened the perception of the importance of civil-military relations, which allow for the exploration of lines of endeavor to prevent and combat terrorism and violent extremism”, he said.
The minister explained that these gains have made it possible to restore favorable security conditions for the gradual return of displaced people to their areas of origin, and for the resumption of the normal functioning of institutions and of economic activities.
According to Chume, the country must establish cordons around critical infrastructures, including hydrocarbon exploration sites. Also critical is the strengthening of border surveillance to prevent the entry and exit of terrorists and their logistics.
“We are confident that this conference, which represents an important exercise in the transparent debate of ideas aimed at gathering lessons learned from SAMIM’s noble mission, will contribute to improving the operations of SADC peace missions whenever they prove necessary and, consequently, to strengthening peace and security in our region”, the Minister said.
(AIM)
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