The minister of defense considered that the operations supported by foreign forces in Cabo Delgado resulted in "remarkable progress" in the fight against terrorism in Mozambique.

Since the deployment of the military mission of the Southern African Development Community (SAMIM), in 2021, the combined actions of this mission, in addition to the Armed Forces of Defense of Mozambique, have resulted in remarkable progress, being also recognized, for this purpose, the support of the military personnel of Rwanda? said Cristóvão Chume, in a speech sent to Lusa today by the Ministry of Defense.

Cristóvão Chume was speaking Tuesday during a meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ on Politics, Defense and Security in the Namibian capital (Windhoek).

Although he points to progress in the fight against rebel groups in northern Mozambique, the governor points to the need for ?appropriate? measures, since the insurgents' new strategy is to split into small groups to continue carrying out armed attacks.

The reinvigorated surveillance actions of the Armed Forces of Defense of Mozambique have not allowed the terrorists to expand into other regions of the country, and their pursuit and combat must be continued," said Cristóvão Chume.

In the final communiqué of Tuesday's meeting, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) called for strengthening the operational capacity of the regional military force in Cabo Delgado.

The regional leaders ?expressed condolences? to the governments of the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republics of Botswana and Zambia, and the United Republic of Tanzania ?and their families for the loss of their citizens? without giving details of the number of victims.

In addition to the presidents of Namibia, Zambia, South Africa and DRCongo, the heads of government of Lesotho and Essuatíni (formerly Swaziland) attended the extraordinary summit of the Troika of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defense and Security.

The province of Cabo Delgado has been plagued by conflict since 2017 that is terrorizing the population. Armed rebel groups have been looting and massacring villages and towns throughout the province, and a variety of attacks have been claimed by the 'arm' of the self-proclaimed Islamic State in that region.