A member of the Botswana Defence Force has died while on duty in Mozambique’s troubled Cabo Delgado province, a BDF spokesperson announced on Wednesday.
BDF spokesperson Tebo Dikole said the unnamed soldier “lost his life in an accident involving a motor vehicle in Pemba, Mozambique on 3 August.
“Investigations to determine the cause of the accident are ongoing,” Dikole said.
Botswana is one of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states that have contributed troops to a regional intervention force that is assisting Mozambique to quell a jihadist insurgency in its oil-rich Cabo Delgado province.
Botswana, which chairs the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security, deployed 296 troops to Mozambique in July to be part of the SADC intervention force.
Another SADC country that has deployed troops to Mozambique is South Africa, while Zimbabwe has pledged to send over 300 instructors to train Mozambican forces.
Rwanda, which is not a member of the 16-member SADC bloc, also sent 1,000 troops last month.
JN/APA