EU joins hand in fight against Islamists in Cabo Delgado

MAPUTO, Mozambique

European Foreign Affairs High Representative Josep Borrell on Friday delivered in Maputo the first tranche of non-lethal military equipment for Mozambican troops trained by the EU to fight in Cabo Delgado.

"This is the first delivery, more will follow soon,” as part of an 89 million euro (85 plus an initial tranche of four) package for equipment, he said.

All-terrain cargo vehicles and individual equipment such as uniforms, helmets, glasses and water bottles were part of the delivery today at the Katembe military base on the southern bank of Maputo, one of the sites of the EU military training mission.

At the base, Borrell attended a military exercise, alongside European diplomatic missions and the Mozambican defence minister, Cristovão Chume, and the chief of staff of the armed forces, Joaquim Mangrasse.

The next shipments of aid to Mozambique will also include equipment for fighting on the rivers and at sea, he added, stressing that European support obeyed an integrated vision, which included economic and social development to restore peace in Cabo Delgado.

From a military point of view, “Mozambique is the first country to receive combat training and material support” simultaneously, under the umbrella of “a new instrument” that is the European Peace Facility – with the aim of making the armed forces self-sustaining, meaning that they no longer need external support, he noted.

The EU helps not only out of “generosity” but also because it is in Mozambique’s interests to become a country that contributes to global “peace and prosperity”, Borrell said, highlighting a phrase: “Our struggle is your struggle”.

In his solemn speech at the Katembe base, the senior European representative quoted the first Mozambican president, Samora Machel, on the idea of a new, developed society, because military action in Cabo Delgado needs to “go hand in hand” with economic and social development, he said.

In the capital, Josep Borrell presided over the transfer of command of the training mission from Brigadier-General Lemos Pires to Commodore Martins de Brito – at the same time as he formally declared that the mission was at “full operational capacity”.

When asked what is different about this mission to make it more successful than, for example, the presence in Mali – or what difference the Portuguese leadership will make, when Portugal has already been training Mozambican troops for decades – Borrell highlighted the resources and the union of several countries.

The difference in relation to other scenarios lies in “the good cooperation there is with the Mozambican government”.

In addition to Portugal, there are 11 other countries in the mission and there are more resources: “working together, we are stronger”, he said of collaboration between Europeans.

For the EU, after Mali, Central African Republic and Somalia, this is the fourth mission of its kind.

The two-year mission supports the training of 1,100 soldiers from 11 rapid reaction units of the Mozambican armed defence forces (commandos prepared in Chimoio and marines in Katembe, as well as air traffic controllers) and is carried out by 119 members from 12 EU countries.

Portugal takes command of the mission and is the country with the largest contingent, currently 68 soldiers from the three branches of the Portuguese armed forces and national republican guard.

The common costs for EU training mission, covered by the European Peace Facility, are estimated at 15 million euros for the two-year period.

Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas but has been terrorised since 2017 by armed violence, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

The insurgency has led to a military response since a year ago by forces from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts near gas projects but leading to a new wave of attacks in other areas, closer to Pemba, the provincial capital, and in the neighbouring province of Nampula.

There are about 800,000 internally displaced people due to the conflict, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and about 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.