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SADC leaders to meet in Maputo over Mozambique terror threats

Last month's attacks by Islamist militants in Palma, Mozambique, are the most serious of the four-year insurgency which threatens the economy and peace in the region. File photo.
Last month's attacks by Islamist militants in Palma, Mozambique, are the most serious of the four-year insurgency which threatens the economy and peace in the region. File photo.
Image: Supplied

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) will hold a two-day extraordinary Troika Summit in Maputo from Thursday to Friday to deliberate on measures to address terrorism in the host country Mozambique.

According to a notification sent to member states by the bloc’s secretariat, there will be a meeting of defence and security clusters from all member states on the first day. These are drawn from the military, intelligence services and the police. That will be followed by a meeting of the commanders of the countries' defence and security clusters.

The first day will be capped by a ministerial meeting of the troika composed of foreign affairs ministers from Tanzania (SADC chair), Zimbabwe, SA and Botswana.

The second day will start with the Troika summit where Zimbabwe, Botswana and SA’s presidents will meet since they form the organ on politics, defence and security. It will end with a meeting comprising heads of all member states.

The SADC meeting comes after Islamic State-linked insurgents late last month attacked the strategic town of Palma. The contract of retired former Zimbabwe army commander Lionel Dyck, director of the Dyck Advisory Group, a private military company contracted by the Mozambican police to help fight the rebels, expired on Tuesday.

Calling for increased aid relief in Mozambique, Refugees International’s director of communications Sarah Sheffer said “over the last year, the number of people displaced internally has skyrocketed from 70,000 to 700,000”.

“Refugees International calls on the international community to mobilise a swift response to this humanitarian crisis and for an end to the violence. Humanitarian actors are already stretched thin: the current humanitarian appeal for the Cabo Delgado emergency is only 1% funded. Donors must step up immediately to provide much-needed support,” she said.

TimesLIVE

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