European Union diplomatic chief Josep Borrell on Thursday reaffirmed the EU’s support for Mozambique by announcing new military aid to help the country deal with “terrorism” after several bloody attacks attributed to jihadists in the north.
Arriving from South Africa for a two-day visit to Mozambique, Mr Borrell met in the capital Maputo with President Filipe Nyusi and his Foreign Minister Veronica Macamo, where he told a press conference he “expressed the EU’s commitment and solidarity with Mozambique in its fight against terrorism”. He added that the EU had approved on Thursday an additional €15 million in military aid to support Mozambique in the volatile northern province of Cabo Delgado, which is regularly bloodied by attacks attributed to jihadists. The funds will provide Maputo with equipment and vehicles, among other things, and are in addition to the €89 million already earmarked to support the Mozambican armed forces, the EU said in a statement.
Macamo described the EU-Mozambique relationship as “excellent”, and Nyusi welcomed the EU’s support, which includes the creation of a military training base for Mozambican forces, which Borrell is due to visit on Friday. Borrell’s visit comes a day after an Italian nun was killed in an attack on the headquarters of her congregation in the northeastern province of Nampula, claimed by the Islamic State group. This attack is “a dark reminder that the fight against terrorism is not over, and that unfortunately it extends beyond the Cabo Delgado region”, Mr Borrell stressed.