EU pays Rwanda €20m for Cabo Delgado peacekeeping mission

Rwandan soldiers patrol Quitunda Camp in Afungi, Cabo Delgado in Mozambique on September 22, 2021. The troops were deployed to Mozambique to fight insurgents terrorizing civilians.

By Berna Namata, KIGALI Rwanda

The European Union has given Rwanda €20 million to support its peacekeeping mission in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique.

Rwanda deployed its army and police personnel to Cabo Delgado in July 2021 under a bilateral arrangement at the request of Mozambique, and currently has around 2,500 troops engaged in joint operations with Mozambican forces.

The funding is the first external support the country has received since it launched the operation.

The government says additional troops will be deployed in areas that have experienced new terrorist attacks.

“Rwanda remains a reliable partner in the fight against terrorism on the continent and we are pleased to collaborate with the European Union in this work,” said Vincent Biruta, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs in a statement issued on Thursday while announcing that the government had received the funding.

The Rwandan troops deployed to Cabo Delgado on July 9, following an April visit to Kigali by Mozambican leader Filipe Nyusi.

They were followed weeks later by forces from neighbouring countries who deployed under the aegis of the 16-member regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community.