Mozambique’s Defense Minister, Cristóvão Chume, said yesterday that the training of troops is a priority for the year 2023, during a ceremony, in Cabo Delgado, to launch the operational year.
The training of the Armed Defense Forces of Mozambique [FADM] must be a permanent and continuous act to respond to the dynamic nature of the threats” and “must constitute the main agenda of our military units this year,” he said.
Cristóvão Chume was speaking in Namacande, district headquarters of Muidumbe, in the northern province of the country which has been facing an armed insurgency for five years.
After the speech, the governor addressed the members of the Local Force, designation given to ex-combatants and other civilians who support the troops on the ground in Cabo Delgado, and reiterated that they will be contemplated in the action plan.
“The Government approved the law that says that the local force will depend on the Chief of the General Staff: training, uniforms, weapons will be with them, food and other logistics will be with the armed forces as well,” he said, addressing the elements on the ground and recalling the law approved in December.
The Mozambican Defense Minister also addressed the population of Muidumbe and asked them to report cases of aggression, drunkenness or other situations of indiscipline by members of the FADM.
“They have the obligation to treat you well. If you see a military person who drinks, come and inform the commander to pick him up. If you catch a soldier who is beating the population, come and inform him. We will arrest them and send them away,” he said.
Data from the Muidumbe district administration indicate that about 54,000 people who lived as displaced people in different points have already returned to their villages, and 17 schools are teaching.
Cabo Delgado province has been facing an armed insurgency for five years with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.
The insurgency has led to a military response since July 2021 with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts near gas projects, but new waves of attacks have emerged south of the region and in neighboring Nampula province.
The conflict has left one million people displaced, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and about 4,000 dead, according to the conflict registration project ACLED.