Since 2017, an Islamist-linked Insurgency has threatened the relative peace and energy reserves of Mozambique. More than 800,000 people have been pushed out from their homes in Cabo Delgado, a Northern province of Mozambique now tagged, ‘the new global province of natural gas’.
According to Mozambican President Felipe Nyusi, the insurgency has caused total paralysis in mineral activity, agriculture, and infrastructure development in the region.
In a statement released by the government, Rwanda will be deploying a thousand troops of its Rwanda Defence Force and the Rwanda National Police to Cabo Delgado Province in Mozambique to help the country tackle the insurgency crisis. This deployment follows the decision by regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to send forces to help quell the insurgency.
“Rwandan troops have come to save lives in a province where we have people being killed and beheaded every day,” the president said. “We couldn’t deny any available assistance.”