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MAPUTO. — The US government’s demonstration of its interest in supporting Mozambique in fighting the armed insurgency in the northern province of Cabo Delgado reflects the geostrategic importance of the African country to Washington, according to analysts questioned by Lusa.
Yesterday the US coordinator for counterterrorism, Nathan Sales, speaking in Maputo, said that his government was “seriously interested” in a partnership with Mozambique to stop armed groups in Cabo Delgado province, “strengthening our friendship while together we face the challenge of terrorism,” according to a statement issued by the US embassy in Maputo.
Speaking to Lusa, Calton Cadeado, a lecturer at Joaquim Chissano University in Maputo and an expert in defence and security, said that he viewed the readiness demonstrated by Washington as a good sign.
“The United States has never hidden the geostrategic and geopolitical interest that Mozambique has always taken for its position in the Indian Ocean,” he said, recalling interest US officials allegedly expressed some years ago in setting up a military base in Nacala, Nampula province, in the north of Mozambique.
Cadeado also stressed that the presence of US-based multinational Exxon Mobil in natural gas projects in Cabo Delgado and the risk that the turmoil caused by the insurgency in the province would stoke various types of trafficking, including drugs, would also be a focus of concern for Washington.
“The US is one of Mozambique’s largest donor countries and this is not just out of altruism; it is in the interest of that country for the stability” of the Portuguese-language nation, he stressed.
Adriano Nuvunga, a professor of political science and director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), a civil society organisation in Mozambique, agreed that the interest shown by the US fits into what it sees as the global war against terrorism.
“From the US perspective, what is happening in Cabo Delgado is terrorism and deserves the same vigorous fight as the war against the Islamic state and al Qaida,” he said.
Meanwhile, Islamist terrorists have capture a village around 20 km from the Afungi peninsula, home of the country’s major LNG plans.
The AFP said an attack had taken place at the village of Mute on Monday. Militants targeted soldiers and burnt homes. Reports said fighting continued into Tuesday.
It was unclear whether the government had managed to dislodge the attackers as of Wednesday morning. Some reports have said private military contractors Dyck Advisory Group (DAG) is involved in the offensive to retake Mute.
Mute is between the Afungi LNG site and Mocimboa da Praia, a port seized by Islamists in August. — Macau Business.
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