The European Union (EU) is set to disburse €1.9 million to the Southern African Development Community Military Mission (SAMIM) which has been fighting Islamic State militants in northern Mozambique.
The EU ambassador in Mozambique, Antonio Sánchez-Benedito Gaspar said that the project has been approved and that the EU was exploring other possibilities of supporting the forces that are on the ground. The EU has also approved a total of €89 million for the training and capacity building of Mozambican troops under the European Peace Facility.
The aid is part of the SADC Rapid Response Mechanism in Cabo Delgado and is projected to cover five months, with the priorities being the capacity building of local police forces, women’s empowerment programs, and dialogues with local leaders on matters of good governance.
SADC member countries recently approved the transition of the SAMIM’s mandate to be more robust and focused on stabilizing the achievements made by the troops supporting Mozambique in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado, where reconstruction is already underway at several points that were dominated by rebels.
CT operations by the Mozambican troops backed by both Rwandan and SAMIM troops have yielded tangible results that have seen the liberation of most regions from the ISCAP militants with IDPs reportedly returning to homes they had been driven out of by the terror activities.
