A regional intervention force battling Islamist militants in Mozambique’s northern Cabo del Gado province will stay in the country until the situation improves further, according to a statement by the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
During an extraordinary summit convened to discuss the security situation in Mozambique in the wake of the regional troop intervention which many say has dislodged the al-Shabaab jihadist movement.
The SADC troop presence was supposed to end on 15 October this year but due to a request for an extension by President Filipe Nyusi the intervention force will remain in the country.
The decision to extend the stay of SADC soldiers in Mozambique comes as the intervention force suffers casualties from the insurgency.
Three soldiers from Tanzania and Botswana were killed during fighting with the jihadists.
Rwanda recently acknowledged that a number of its soldiers who were part of the SADC intervention force in Mozambique had been killed in the line of duty.
Mozambique has been under the grip of a vicious al-Shabaab driven insurgency since last year.
WN/as/APA