Maputo — Rwandan President Paul Kagame has pledged the continued support of his country's armed forces for the fight against islamist terrorism in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado.
Kagame gave this pledge when he met with his Mozambican counterpart, Filipe Nyusi, at a bilateral meeting held over the weekend in Addis Ababa, where both Presidents were attending the heads of state summit of the African Union.
Speaking to reporters on his return to Maputo on Saturday, Nyusi made it clear that, while the Mozambican defence and security forces are seeking to build up greater capacity to fight terrorism, the Rwandan forces will remain in Cabo Delgado.
"One of the points we have been discussing is the sustainability of the Mozambican armed forces (FADM) and police", added Nyusi. This approach seeks to ensure, that when the Rwandans do leave, the Mozambican armed forces and police will be able to guarantee fully that they can meet the challenges posed in the defence and security sector.
While the Mozambicans' own capacity is built up, the Rwandan troops will fight side-by-side with the FADM in the fight against terrorism and other threats to Mozambican sovereignty.
Kagame had pledged to continue supporting Mozambique "and we affirmed that we are going to step up the fight against terrorism", declared Nyusi. "We shall step up the fight because terrorism is the main problem".
Kagame's pledge came shortly after the European Union publicly guaranteed the first 20 million US dollars in support for the Rwandan operations in Mozambique.
Meanwhile, according to a report in Monday's issue of the independent newssheet "Mediafax", four terrorists have been captured in the town of Mocimboa da Praia. The jihadists took the risk of slipping into the town because they were hungry.
They went to the houses of their mothers to ask for food. Their mothers did feed them - but also denounced their presence to the local authorities. Members of the Rwandan military contingent went to their homes and arrested the four men.
