PRETORIA,
South Africa
The
South African Cabinet on Thursday April 22 said it welcomed the “efforts of the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) to bring about lasting peace and security
as well as reconciliation and development in Mozambique.”Acting Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni
The pronouncement follows the meeting of SADC’s Extraordinary
Double Troika Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Maputo earlier
this month, Acting Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said when
she briefed the media of the Cabinet’s meeting in Pretoria.
The Troika summit directed an immediate technical deployment of
SADC personnel to Mozambique after Islamic terrorists attacked the northern
region of Cabo Delgado, killing dozens of people in the province, Ntshavheni
said.
According to her, the leaders at the summit noted with concern
the acts of terrorism perpetrated against innocent civilians, women and children,
and condemned the violence in the strongest terms.
The dead victims included one South African.
Thousands of displaced Mozambicans and other foreign nationals
were evacuated to safer areas of the country following the attacks, she said.
The leaders “affirmed that such heinous attacks cannot be
allowed to continue without a proportionate regional response,” she added.
At the summit, the leaders conveyed the region’s full solidarity
with Mozambique and reaffirmed SADC’s continued commitment to contribute
towards the efforts to bring about lasting peace and security in Cabo Delgado,
as well as reconciliation and development in Mozambique, the minister said.
“Cabinet is also satisfied that South African citizens in
Mozambique have been offered consular assistance through the Ministry of
International Relations and Cooperation’s 24-hour Consular Command Centre,” she
said.
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