The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has delayed by a week an emergency virtual summit that was set for Friday to discuss the security situation in Mozambique.
The regional body said the extraordinary summit of its security troika would now take place on January 11, while the extraordinary summit of heads of state and government of all its 16 member states would be held a day later.
“The meetings will now take place in Lilongwe, the Republic of Malawi from 11th-12th January 2022,” the organisation’s secretariat said in a statement.
The meetings were initially planned to be held virtually on January 5 and 6.
Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera is expected to chair the extraordinary summit of heads of state and government, while South African President Cyril Ramaphosa would chair the meeting of the Troika of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation. Other members of the troika are Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi and President Hage Geingob of Namibia.
The extraordinary summit is expected to review progress of the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) which was deployed to support Mozambique to combat terrorism and acts of violent extremism.
SAMIM has been assisting Mozambique defence forces to fight Islamic State-linked insurgents since July 2021.
JN/APA