International
Rwanda Mozambique security partnership only about restoring state authority in Cabo Delgado
In
July 2021, the Government of Rwanda, at the request of the Government of
Mozambique, started the deployment of a 1,000-person contingent of the Rwanda Defense
Force (RDF) and the Rwanda National Police (RNP) to Cabo Delgado Province.
The southern
African country was being affected by terrorism and insecurity.
More
than two years later, the joint efforts between Rwandan troops and their
Mozambican counterparts have yielded good results.
Kigali’s
mission was to help Maputo fight the terrorists, stabilize Cabo Delgado and
restore the authority of the state. The mission, by and large, has been a
success in areas where Rwandan and Mozambican forces jointly operate.
In
October 2017, armed extremists linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant (ISIL) launched an insurgency in Cabo Delgado province, in northern Mozambique.
By November 2020, the terrorists had seized the port of Mocimboa da Praia, and
Vamizi Island in the Indian Ocean, beheaded more than 50 civilians and
displaced thousands.
Mocimboa
da Praia, a port city with a population of about 130,000, had become a
strategic holdout for the insurgency in Cabo Delgado province. In one of the
terrorists' attacks, earlier on October 5, 2017, Mocimboa da Praia was targeted
and then occupied for two days. The terrorists took possession of it in 2020.
In
March 2021, the terrorists captured Palma, a major town, murdering dozens of
civilians and displacing more than a half of the town's 75,000 residents.
There
was no state authority in six of Cabo Delgado’s 16 districts. The situation worsened
every day as terrorists aimed to capture more territory in their quest to turn
the Province into their caliphate.
The
tide turned, very quickly, when the Rwanda Security Forces (RSF) were deployed.
In
close collaboration with their Mozambican counterparts, they quickly stopped the
threat caused by the terrorists and ensured state authority in areas where they
were deployed.
Since
2021, the joint force dislodged insurgents from their strongholds, allowing
civilians to return to their homes, and also collaborated with SADC's SAMIM
force to pursue terrorists in other sectors.
Rwanda’s
mission in Cabo Delgado was primarily focused on saving innocent civilians.
In
September 2022, a year after their deployment, the Rwandans had secured Palma
and Mocimboa da Praia Districts – the Rwandan security forces’ area of
responsibility – which were the terrorists’ strongholds.
Up to
December 2022, the Rwandan contingent had been fully funded by the Government
of Rwanda until the support of the European Peace Facility, in the form of €20
million to contribute to the deployment of the Rwanda Defence Force in Cabo
Delgado Province was announced.
The EU
support announced on December 1, 2022, was to ensure that Rwandan troops
working alongside Mozambican forces continue to have the equipment and
logistics required to fight armed terrorists in Cabo Delgado, restore peace and
security, enable the safe return of displaced residents to their homes.
After
the defeat of the terrorists, more than 300, 000 internally displaced persons
returned to their villages to resume their normal lives. The joint Rwandan and
Mozambican security forces continue to ensure that the terrorists do not return
to disturb the peace.
They regularly
conduct medical outreach programmes deep into rural areas where people need
health care services.
In
Palma and Mocimboa da Praia, songs of praise to the Rwandans are sung every day.
Rwanda
remains a reliable partner in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado
province – and on the continent – but there are detractors whose only aim is to
tarnish the country’s image.
The
detractors don’t care about the thousands of people whose lives were saved by
the Rwanda-Mozambique security partnership.
For them,
Rwanda's intervention is all about economic rewards.
"The Rwandan president has deployed troops in
Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado since 2021 to fight jihadists; in that time, a host
of companies linked to Crystal Ventures, the private holding company owned by
his party, have settled in Mozambique. They are betting on the development of
TotalEnergies’ mega gas project in Afungi," wrote Romain Gras, in an
article published by The Africa Report, on May 15, 2023.
In Mozambique, Gras noted, “the military support provided by
Paul Kagame to Maputo in the fight against jihadist movements has opened the
country’s doors to Rwandan interests, particularly in the mining sector.”
What
Gras and others like him know but never want to tell the world is that Rwanda,
driven by the lessons learned during and after the 1994 Genocide against the
Tutsi and the spirit of African solidarity, broadened its army’s capabilities
and committed to help other African nations fight terrorism and insurgency
through bilateral or multilateral missions.
Fact:
The international community betrayed Rwanda in the run-up to the 1994 genocide.
UN betrayal continued after the genocide.
"For
Rwanda, however, security and the need to fight against terror and those who
would perpetrate genocide is no longer only an issue for their borders,"
wrote Michael Rubin, on an Op-Ed “Rwanda Has Become Africa’s Counter-terrorism
Powerhouse,” in July 2021.
Rather
than continue to ignore or even bash Rwanda, Rubin noted, it is time for
"the West to recognize that a prosperous Africa needs more Rwandas."