Angola Parliament Unanimously Approves Sending Military to Join SADC Force in Mozambique

2:33 CAT | 27 Jul 20210

FILE- For illustration purposes only. [File photo: ANGOP]

Angola will send 20 military officers and a military transport aircraft to Cabo Delgado as part of the SADC mission supporting Mozambique’s defence forces against terrorism in the north of the country.

The Angolan parliament unanimously approved the measure this Tuesday, July 27.

The approval of the deployment of Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) troops is a favourable response to the request of Angola’s President João Lourenço, himself motivated by the summit of SADC heads of state on security in Mozambique.

The Angolan component includes two officers, under the regional cooperation mechanism, eight officers in the Force Command and ten crew members of the IL-76 type strategic projection aircraft.

It is the first time ever that the Angolan president has asked parliament for authorisation to send Angolan troops abroad, despite previous operations in foreign countries such as  in Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea-Bissau.

In the resolution, the deputies noted that Angola has been a member state of SADC since the organisation was founded in 1980 and that member states “are determined to cooperate with Mozambique in the face of the prevailing situation of insecurity, characterised by terrorist acts against innocent civilians, women and children in some districts of Cabo Delgado province”.

Angolan troops are taking part in the SADC military mission as advisers supporting the Mozambican defence forces fighting terrorism in the North Indian Ocean.

The Government of the Republic of Angola decided to participate in the regional mission with two of its regional Action Corps mechanism officers, plus eight officers in command of the force. The aircraft will have a crew of ten.

The operation in Cabo Delgado will last three months, at an initial cost to the Angoan Armed Forces (FAA) of US$575,000 (€488,000).

The mandate of a SADC “joint force on alert” to support Mozambique in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado was approved on 23 June at an extraordinary summit of the organisation in Maputo that discussed armed violence in that northern province.

According to the Mozambican Defence Ministry, in addition to South Africa and Botswana, countries such as Tanzania and Angola have confirmed the deployment of forces, but Mozambique is also waiting for other soldiers from member countries of that regional organisation.

The number of troops that the organisation will send to Mozambique is not publicly known, but SADC experts who were in Cabo Delgado had already said in April that the mission would be made up of around 3,000 soldiers.

A contingent of 1,000 Rwandan military and police personnel is already in Cabo Delgado to fight the armed groups, under a bilateral agreement between the Mozambican government and the Kigali authorities.

Armed groups have terrorised Cabo Delgado province since 2017, with some attacks claimed by the Islamic State group.

There are more than 2,800 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and more than 800,000 displaced people, according to an agreement advanced today by the head of state.

Source: Deutsche Welle / Lusa