Maputo — The Rwandan government has revealed that it has over 6,300 troops deployed in Northern Mozambique to support the fight against Islamist terrorists.
The Rwandan Forces were deployed in 2021 at the request of the Mozambican government to support the fight against the jihadist groups operating in the region.
According to the Rwandan government spokesperson, Yolande Makolo, this is three times the number that were sent in 2021, and therefore a "sustainable financing framework is needed to continue."
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The Rwandan government had already announced that the Rwandan military presence in Mozambique depends on "adequate and predictable" funding. The announcement comes at a moment when the financial support from the European Peace Facility is due to expire in May "with no plans for renewal", according to EU officials.
Rwanda has so far received about 40 million Euros (46.7 million US dollars at the current exchange rate) in EU support for the counter-insurgency mission in Mozambique.
According to Makolo, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), the long-term deployment of Rwandan forces in joint counterterrorism operations in Mozambique requires a sustainable financing framework.
"Having so far shouldered the bulk of the financial burden of these operations, a transition to more equitable funding is a strategic necessity", she said.
She explained that it is up to the Mozambican government to provide the funding.
"Rwanda has not and will not seek additional funds from the European Peace Facility. That is a matter for Mozambique. Rwanda's deployment requires sustainable financing, and it is up to the host government and its partners with major investments in Cabo Delgado to provide for that, as it has always been", she said.
"Otherwise, Rwanda is satisfied to have been able to contribute together with our Mozambican allies in defeating the terrorists, securing the residents of Cabo Delgado and allowing for investments to roll out," she added.
The spokesperson also said that civilians are the biggest beneficiaries of the joint security mission.
"The gas investments benefit European and global energy security/interests, not Rwanda's. Rwandan forces are present in Cabo Delgado in response to the request of the Government of Mozambique for support", Makolo said.
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Last March, the US government imposed sanctions against the Rwandan Armed Forces and four named senior Rwandan officials as result of "direct operational support to the March 23 Movement (M23) and its affiliates in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)."
The M23 rebels are said to be proxies of the Rwandan government, although Rwanda has repeatedly denied this.
The insurgency in Cabo Delgado, which erupted in 2017, brought construction of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, headed by the French company TotalEnergies, to a halt. But work by the Mozambican defence and security forces and their Rwandan allies, particularly in the key districts of Palma and Mocimboa da Praia, allowed TotalEnergies to lift the state of force majeure which it had declared in 2021.
In January of this year, the French energy company and the Mozambican government agreed to resume construction of the project.
