The African Union (AU) has pledged to assist Mozambique with about US$100,000 to thousands of people displaced by terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado province, according to media reports monitored here on Thursday.
The privately owned O Pais daily reported that the continental body had also promised to provide military training to Mozambique’s Defence and Security Forces (FDS).
It said the pledges were made by the chairman of the AU Subcommittee on Refugees, Displaced Persons and Humanitarian Affairs, Andrew Bangali, and the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Bankole Adeoye, during a meeting Mozambique’s Foreign Affairs Minister Verónica Macamo on Wednesday.
Bangali is said to have identified humanitarian assistance as a priority for the AU in its assistance to Mozambique.
“Our contribution is to complement the government’s work already underway. That is why the African Union Subcommittee on Refugees, Displaced Persons and Humanitarian Affairs and Political Affairs, Peace and Security are in the country for this feat,” Bangali said.
More than 800,000 people have been displaced from Cabo Delgado province since insurgents aligned to the Islamic State started attacking government installations and civilians in October 2017.
Adeoye said the AU would contribute towards the intervention by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Rwanda by ensuring that members of the FDS are trained to fight the terrorists.
“As we know, the SADC Standby Forces are part of the African Union, hence the need for the AU to support the initiative,” Adeoye said.
SADC has deployed thousands of troops to northern Mozambique to repel the insurgents who have so far killed more than 3,000 people.
JN/APA