Rwanda is currently helping Moçambique to create a new elite special force that will replace foreign troops once they exit the country in a yet to be announced period, an authoritative source confirmed to APA Wednesday in Kigali
The new special force of elite soldiers and police signals a further toughening of the government’s crackdown in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
This new special composite force is trained by Rwandan experts. It will respond to kidnappings and terrorism in the country.
General Commander of the Moçambiquan police, Bernardino Rafael was quoted as saying at the launch of this force, “We are aware that the fruit of this training will not appear in six months, but the important thing is to be prepared for the future.”
More than 3,100 mainly African forces, led by a heavy Rwandan contingent, are deployed to northern Mozambique, and the government says it has regained control over most of the region.
Moçambiquan and Rwandan forces notched up a major victory in August, when they drove the fighters out of their de facto headquarters in the port city of Mocimboa da Praia.
The new force is meant to replace the foreign troops once they return home.
During a working visit in Moçambique in September this year, Rwanda President Paul Kagame said, “The work done so far during joint military operations by Rwandan and Mozambican troops cannot stop here.
“We now have another task which is to continue rebuilding and protecting this country,” Kagame said.
Rwanda’s contingent of 1,000 soldiers is the biggest foreign force in resource-rich Cabo Delgado, which is the site of a U$20 billion liquefied natural gas project operated by French energy giant Total.
CU/abj/APA