MAPUTO, Mozambique
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame
arrived in Mozambique Friday for a two-day state.
The visit comes two-and-a-half months after Rwanda’s deployment of a 1000- strong contingent, made up of the army and the police, that recently launched offensive attacks against insurgents in Cabo Delgado province in the north east of Mozambique.
In July, Rwanda, under a
bilateral arrangement, was the first to send troops to Mozambique. Botswana
followed with a contingent of 296 and South Africa deployed 1,500 soldiers.
Despite initial opposition to
the deployment by some members of the Southern Africa Development Community
(SADC), both Presidents Nyusi and Kagame have defended the move.
They said it was necessary to
counter the rising threat of terrorism and insecurity after the insurgents
linked to the Islamic State (IS) group had taken control of most of the five
districts in Cabo Delgado in four years since 2017.
President Kagame has defended deployment. He said Rwanda is
footing the deployment bill for now, and the troops will stay on to train the
Mozambican army.
He added that the nature of
the threat is regional given that the insurgents not only included Mozambicans,
but also Tanzanians, Ugandans, Kenyans, Somalis, Yemenis, Congolese and
Rwandans.
“There is nobody who sponsored
us for this… Our Minister of Finance knows how much we have been draining into
this, but I think the outcome and cause are much bigger than the money we have
spent. Maybe we will work with the Mozambican government to fill the gaps that
have been created,” President Kagame said on September 5 during a press
briefing on national television – Rwanda Broadcasting Agency.
President Kagame's visit to
Mozambique comes after his country’s Defence Force Army Chief of Staff, Lt Gen
Mubarakh Muganga, commended his forces deployed in Cabo Delgado for “the good
work done since their arrival in Mozambique”.
Lt Gen Muganga, who was in
Mozambique for a 4-day visit to Rwandan Forces deployed in Cabo Delgado since
Saturday, was briefed about the progress of military operations against terror
groups.
He was welcomed by the Joint
Force Commander Maj Gen Innocent Kabandana.
Lt Gen Muganga urged the
Forces to keep the momentum and continue to be good ambassadors of Rwanda.
“He further conveyed a message
of appreciation from the RDF Commander-in-Chief, HE President Paul Kagame, for
the security achievements gained since the Force's arrival in Cabo Delgado,”
Rwanda Ministry of Defence (MOD) said in a tweet.
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