Mozambique in a 'tug of war' with SADC over Rwanda's military deployment

MAPUTO, Mozambique

The Mozambican President has reiterated that the Southern African Development Community [SADC] has made room for the country to receive bilateral support in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado, considering that the nation is sovereign.

“We are a sovereign nation and SADC respects that,” Filipe Nyusi said, speaking during a visit to military units deployed in Sofala province in central Mozambique on Monday.

At issue is the arrival on Friday of a contingent of 1,000 Rwandan troops, deployed to support Mozambican forces in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado, at a time when the country is expecting the arrival of the joint force designated by SADC in the coming days.

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The arrival, first, of Rwandan troops was criticised by South Africa’s defence minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who said on Saturday she “regretted” that “it happens before SADC has deployed its force”.

“Regardless of the bilateral agreement, it would be expected that Rwanda’s intervention to help Mozambique would happen within the regional mandate decided by the SADC heads of state,” she said in an interview with South African public television SABC.

In his speech on Monday, Filipe Nyusi clarified that SADC accepted that Mozambique should work bilaterally in efforts to stop terrorism in Cabo Delgado at the same summit where the intervention of the organisation was approved.

“We are going to work with our brothers from Rwanda and SADC is also coming,” said Nyusi, stressing, however, that Mozambicans will lead the fight against rebel groups in Cabo Delgado as they know the terrain well.

The arrival of Rwandan troops to support the Mozambican forces was also criticised by the main opposition party (Renamo), which accuses the executive of violating the constitution by not having put the matter before parliament.