Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa says an insurgency in Mozambique’s gas-rich northeast is becoming increasingly complex and poses a threat to security in Southern Africa.
Speaking on television Tuesday in Harare the Zimbabwean capital, Mnangagwa described the modus operandi of the terrorist groups and their networks as intricate and elaborate.
Mnangagwa spoke at a meeting of the Southern African Development Community’s so-called Troika, which promotes security in the region. The talks, attended by the presidents of neighboring Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia, come after Mozambique asked for a review of an “urgent security situation” in its country.
The regional leaders urged member states to support Mozambique in fighting the terrorists, according to a statement handed to reporters after the meeting ended. It didn’t specify what type of assistance should be offered.
The SADC leaders didn’t say whether regional support would include troops.
Mozambique is battling to contain an insurgency by militants that have pledged allegiance to Islamic State and who began attacking villages in the northeast in late 2017.
The violence significantly worsened this year, and fighters overran towns close to an area in which companies including Total SA and Exxon Mobil Corp. are developing liquefied natural gas projects worth almost $60 billion.
The nation that borders South Africa is banking on the investments to generate nearly $100 billion of state revenue over 25 years, more than seven times its gross domestic product.
Source: Bloomberg
