Southern African nations agree to deploy forces to Mozambique

The SADC Standby Force will support Mozambique ‘to combat terrorism and acts of violent extremism’ in Cabo Delgado.

A southern African bloc of countries has agreed to deploy troops to Mozambique to help it tackle an escalating conflict that has over the past three-and-a-half years killed nearly 3,000 people and displaced almost 800,000. The 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc “approved” the deployment of the “SADC Standby Force in support of Mozambique to combat terrorism and acts of violent extremism in Cabo Delgado”, the bloc’s executive secretary Stergomena Tax said at the end of a one-day summit on Wednesday in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo. The standby force is part of a regional defence pact that allows military intervention to prevent the spread of conflict.