The Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) on Thursday announced the withdrawal of its forces from the restive northern province of Cabo Delgado, marking the end of its peacekeeping mission in the region.
The 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) resolved to send a 3,000-strong force to the country in 2021 to help the government combat terrorism and acts of violent extremism.
Troops from Rwanda are currently patrolling the region.
“The operationalization of the SAMIM force has proved to be an enormous complement to the operations of the Mozambican Defense and Security Forces, offering greater robustness to the mission of pursuing and eliminating terrorists on the battlefield,” Mozambican Defense Minister Cristovao Chume said at the closing event in Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado province.
Noting that progress in the fight against terrorism is a victory for all SADC countries, Chume said the regional force played a major role in addressing the threat posed by terrorism in the region.
He described the mission as an example of regional solidarity for the African continent and a strategy for addressing African challenges.
He noted that despite the destruction of the terrorist bases and a resumption of economic activity, some terrorists are still roaming parts of Cabo Delgado, wreaking havoc among the population.
An armed insurgency with its origins in the wider socio-economic and political disparity hit northern Mozambique in 2017, leaving thousands dead and others displaced.