The South Africa National Defence Force (SANDF) has dispatched soldiers to evacuate South Africans stranded in neighbouring Mozambique, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Friday.
Speaking during a memorial service for anti-apartheid icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Ramaphosa said the SANDF was working to secure the safety of South Africans who are stranded in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province where Islamic State-linked insurgents have intensified attacks against government installations and foreigners since March 24.
“We are attending to the matter on an ongoing basis and we have already attended to the issue of evacuating those South Africans who are stranded in Mozambique.
“The SANDF has brought them back and we are remaining involved with securing the safety of our people in Mozambique,” Ramaphosa said.
The announcement came days after the South African government revealed that the country’s high commission in Maputo has managed to account for a total of 43 South Africans affected by the recent attacks in Cabo Delgado’s Palma town.
Most of the stranded South Africans were located in an area called Afungi in Palma coastal town which has been besieged by armed insurgents since last Wednesday.
A South African is among dozens that have been killed since March 24 when militants launched attacks on Palma, which is located near a multibillion-dollar gas project being developed by a consortium led by French oil giant Total.
JN/APA