Rwanda troops deployment in Mozambique compliments SADC

On July 9, the government of Rwanda announced the decision to deploy a joint military and police force of 1,000 to the Cabo Delgado Province of Northern Mozambique affected by terrorism and insecurity.

The Southern African Development Community bloc had approved, in June, the deployment of a joint Standby Force in support of Mozambique to combat terrorism and acts of violent extremism in Cabo Delgado, as Stergomena Tax, the executive secretary of SADC then told the media at the end of a regional Summit in Maputo.

Rwanda is not a member of SADC. The request for the Rwandan troops was made under a different bilateral arrangement between the governments of Mozambique and Rwanda. The latter's joint Military and Police contingent was sent to go and work closely with Mozambique Armed Defence Forces (FADM) and SADC forces, once they arrived, in designated sectors of responsibility.

The Rwandans were sent to support efforts to restore Mozambican state authority by conducting combat and security operations, as well as stabilisation and security-sector reform.

Act of African solidarity

Amb. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), the AU’s Secretariat, commended Rwanda for deploying troops to help the government of Mozambique fight terrorism and insecurity in the oil and gas region.

Amb Mahamat called Rwanda’s move "a strong and concrete act of African solidarity to support a fellow Member State fight terrorism and insecurity."Many other people have lauded the government of Rwanda.

Clearly, the Rwandan troops deployment complements and strengthens SADC's decision contrary to what is being carried by sections of South African media pointing to “concerns” regarding why Rwanda, which is not a SADC member, deployed there ahead of countries in the bloc.

"I was shocked when South Africa’s Defense Minister (Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula) over the weekend said that it was unfortunate that Rwanda deployed its troops into Mozambique before SADC. Why she found it unfortunate is disturbing. Everyone knows the AU commends Rwanda's deployment," an African diplomat in Nairobi, Kenya, said.

"Rwanda’s rapid deployment was requested by the government of Mozambique. It is primarily about saving lives. The time factor for deployment was very crucial in a situation where people’s lives are in imminent danger in Cabo Delgado."

On March 24, Islamic State-linked militants launched coordinated attacks on the northern town of Palma, killing hundreds of innocent civilians. Thousands more are now displaced in their own country. The UN estimates that the violence has claimed more than 2,800 people and displaced around 800,000 people.

Analysts observe that the people who are now raising questions over Rwanda’s deployment have little or no knowledge on the historical background of Rwanda and its capacity to deploy forces at the shortest time possible, whenever necessary.

In 1994, Rwanda suffered heavily from the genocide against the Tutsi where more than one million people were killed, in 100 days. The UN peacekeepers then on ground and the international community abandoned Rwandans at the time and the Rwandan liberation force, now in government, had to rely on its own capability to stop the genocide.

Rwanda learnt the hard way and resolved to, among others, help other countries so that what happened in Rwanda should not happen elsewhere. This is the driving force behind Rwanda’s deployment of troops in Sudan's region of Darfur, South Sudan, Haiti, the Central African Republic and now, in Mozambique.  According to analysts, terrorism does not respect borders and the issue of whether Rwanda is a SADC member or not matters less.

After stopping the 1994 genocide Rwanda's security forces also had an experience of fighting and stopping terrorism activities in Rwanda. Between 2010 and 2014, they fought and defeated a terror group known as the Rwanda National Congress (RNC) which carried out grenade attacks in Rwanda killing 17 people and wounding more than 400.

The country's militaty, the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), developed and refined an effective contingency plan that responds or counters terrorism and insecurity in the shortest time possible.

Rwanda may be a small country, the diplomat in the Kenyan capital noted, but it is one of the few countries on the continent capable of deploying troops anywhere they are needed in less than 12 hours. "Rwanda’s deployment in Mozambique, whether done before SADC or not, should only be viewed in the wider and positive context of the Pan-Africanism spirit of cooperation."