Mnangagwa threatens Mozambique terrorists

ROBUST action will be taken against insurgents in neighbouring Mozambique as an attack on any member state is an attack on all, while in Zimbabwe Zanu-PF structures should ensure communities are on high-security alert to preserve the peace in the country, President Mnangagwa said.

Addressing the 351st session of the Politburo at the Zanu-PF headquarters yesterday, President Mnangagwa said despite the declaration by the United Nations (UN) for 2021 as the "International Year of Peace and Trust", "it is disheartening to note that the region is under attack".

"Insurgencies are threatening to slow down and reverse our collective efforts to achieve the aspirations outlined in the United Nations SDGs, the African Union Agenda 2063 and within SADC.

"As Zanu-PF, we stand in solidarity with our sister party, Frelimo as well as the Government and people of the Republic of Mozambique in the wake of the ongoing disturbances in Cabo Delgado Province, in northern Mozambique. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. United we stand. Hence, we cannot sit back and allow acts of insurgency to continue without a robust regional response. Last week, I therefore attended the SADC Double Troika Summit in Mozambique, where the regional bloc resolved to immediately make technical deployments towards restoring peace and stability," he said.

In Mozambique's Cabo Delgado region, Islamic extremists who claim links to the terror group ISIS, have been on a bloody rampage of killing innocent civilians and thousands others displaced. A Zimbabwean man, Nyasha Mugwagwa was among the 12 people killed in Cabo Delgado's Palma town last month by armed criminals who have been a menace in the natural gas-rich region since 2017.

"Government is currently working with the Mozambican authorities to establish the number of our nationals who were entrapped during the attack of Palma town, on March 24, 2021. Against this disturbing background, the party structures across all provinces must ensure that our communities are on high-security alert. Let us continue to jealously guard the peace and stability that is existing in our country.

"Under the Second Republic, anarchy and lawlessness of any form are an alien culture and must never be allowed to take root," said the President.

Last week President Mnangagwa attended a Double Troika Summit in Mozambique called by Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who is the current chairperson of the Organ on Defence, Politics and Security Cooperation, which is responsible for peace and security in the region.

At the key indaba, member states resolved to immediately deploy in Mozambique as it prepares "a proportionate regional response" to terrorist attacks in northern Mozambique.

Defence ministers from Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa which currently make up the Organ Troika will also meet on April 28 to prepare a follow-up extraordinary meeting of the Organ Troika the following day. Regional countries have resolved to intervene "as a collective" to deal with the deteriorating security situation in Mozambique, which threatens "the whole region and humanity at large".

Describing the insurgents as "inhumane killers", President Masisi said there was the need to ensure "the scourge of terrorism does not find a home in our region".

He said although Mozambique had commendably fought off attacks from the terrorists, it could not possibly be expected to sustain the operations in the long term.