Pretoria - At least three members of a regional intervention force in Mozambique’s troubled Cabo Delgado province have been killed during clashes with Islamic State-linked insurgents in the area, the Southern African Development Community has said.
In a communique following an extraordinary summit of its security troika, SADC on Tuesday said the three members of the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) were from Botswana and Tanzania.
“Summit expressed deep condolences to the families and governments of the Republic of Botswana and the United Republic of Tanzania for the loss of three soldiers who were serving under the SAMIM,” the communique said.
SAMIM was launched in August as part of regional efforts to repel terrorists going under the name Al Sunnah wa Jama’ah who have been targeting government and private sector installations in Cabo Delgado province since October 2017.
The intervention force comprises combat troops from Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Tanzania as well as a coordination mechanism made up of experts from Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
The SADC security troika, comprising Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, approved the continued presence of SAMIM in Mozambique “to continue with offensive operations against terrorists and violent extremists to consolidate stability of security and create a conducive environment for resettlement of the population and facilitate humanitarian assistance operations and sustainable development,” the communique said.
SAMIM has in recent weeks claimed progress in its offensive against the jihadists, announcing at one time that it has killed at least 18 of the terrorists.