The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), a Mozambican NGO, criticised the President of the Republic for not informing parliament about the entry of military personnel from Rwanda to fight armed groups in Cabo Delgado. “Not even parliament, the sovereign body representing all Mozambicans, was informed about the coming of foreign military personnel” to the north of the country, the CDD said in an analysis note.
The organisation noted that Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi announced the arrival of Rwandan military and police at a military parade in his homeland, in Mueda district, Cabo Delgado province, where the Rwandan contingent will be sent. As well as the presence of Rwandan troops, the head of state explained that the province will also have military personnel from countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Nyusi made the announcement on Friday, after the Kigali government announced the deployment of 1,000 military and police personnel to Mozambique to combat “terrorism in Cabo Delgado. The announcement came during a pause between plenary sessions of Parliament, and no extraordinary meeting was called to debate the presence of foreign troops in the country.
In its analysis, the CDD notes that “until now it is not known how long the [foreign] ‘aid’ in the fight against terrorism will last and who will pay the bill”. The text points out that not even the population of Cabo Delgado province, whose support will be fundamental to the success of the mission, is properly informed about the presence of foreign troops.
On the other hand, the CDD believes that the presence of Rwandan troops in Mozambique “protects” the interests of France, the country of origin of oil multinational TotalEnergies, which is leading the largest private investment in Africa for gas exploration in the area affected by the attacks – an investment that has been suspended due to insecurity.
Armed groups have terrorised the province since 2017, with some attacks claimed by the ‘jihadist’ group Islamic State, in a wave of violence that has led to more than 2,800 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and 732,000 displaced people, according to the UN.
By Lusa