Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa Says SADC Leaders Vowed To Act Urgently To Address Mozambique Crisis

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th April, 2021) Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday said that southern African leaders will "act urgently" to ensure security in the wake of last week's brutal insurgent assault on Palma in Mozambique.

The four leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa, Botswana's Mokgweetsi Masisi, Mozambique's Filipe Nyusi and Mnangagwa, convened in Mozambican capital Maputo earlier in the day. The emergency summit was called by Botswana in order the address the recent Islamist invasion of Palma in the northernmost part of Mozambique and the week of harrowing massacres that ensued.

"From my SADC meeting today with @CyrilRamaphosa, @OfficialMasisi and HE Filipe Nyusi there was only one goal: To find a solution to the security crisis in Mozambique for the protection of our region.

We will act urgently to ensure peace for the benefit of all our peoples," Mnangagwa tweeted.

The SADC summit was supposed to address a possible intervention to stem the terrorist threat in Mozambique, but the latter remains cautious of outside help and the meeting concluded with no concrete action plan. The leaders issued a condemnation of the attack and a statement vowing to send a technical team to Mozambique and hold a ministerial meeting in late April that will present a report at the next SADC summit on April 29.

Violence swept the eastern coast of Mozambique after an Islamist group, known locally as al-Shabaab, raided the port of Palma on March 24, beheading civilians and forcing tens of thousands to flee.