Pretoria – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in the Mozambican capital Maputo for an extraordinary summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to discuss terrorism in the region, his office said on Wednesday.
“The summit will among others consider the proposed SADC regional response and support to the Republic of Mozambique to address terrorism and acts of violent extremism in the Cabo Delgado province,” the Presidency said in a statement.
“This summit is a follow up of the extraordinary SADC double troika summit that took place in Mozambique on 27 May.”
Ramaphosa is accompanied by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor and Minister of State Security Ayanda Dlodlo.
Earlier this year, South Africa deployed soldiers to Mozambique on a mission to rescue its nationals after attacks by Islamic State-linked insurgents in the Cabo Delgado coastal town of Palma.
Ramaphosa said at the time the South African National Defence Force and other stakeholders were attending the crisis on an ongoing basis.
“We are briefed and we have already attended to the issue to evacuate those citizens who are stranded in Mozambique. We remain involved with securing the safety of our people in Palma,” he said.
South African national Adrian Nel was killed in the unrest in Palma in March. His body was repatriated at the same time as his father, brother and other South Africans were also airlifted back home.
African News Agency (ANA)