The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has approved a $12 million budget for the deployment of the Standby Force for Mozambique, which will help the country fight insurgents in Cabo Delgado.

The figure was revealed in Luanda on Monday, 28, by the Angolan Minister of Foreign Affairs who participated in the virtual meeting of the SADC heads of diplomacy.

"The budget is 12 million dollars in total, it is subdivided into headings, funding sources," Tete António said, adding that the money will come from a contingency fund and contributions from the member states, which are also expected to contribute between themselves with seven million dollars.

In light of the situation in Cabo Delgado, which António considered a "matter of survival of the region," SADC has determined that contributions must be made by July 9.

The head of Angolan diplomacy reiterated that he and his colleagues, as well as the entire SADC, have "this awareness that the region is under threat, with the crisis in Mozambique and we all have to respond promptly to this threat that we know in southern Africa.

In the next few days meetings of technical commissions that will flesh out the final proposal for intervention are planned.

The decision to send the force was taken at the summit of the SADC Heads of State and Government held on the 23rd in Maputo.

The intervention aims to help Mozambique's Defense and Security Forces fight insurgents who have caused more than 2,000 deaths and more than 700,000 displaced people with their actions against villages and towns in Cabo Delgado province since October 2017.