Africa-Press – Mozambique. The European Union Training Mission in Mozambique (EUTM-MOZ), led by Portugal, has trained more than 1,650 Mozambican special forces soldiers who are now fighting terrorism in Cabo Delgado, its commander told Lusa on Saturday.
“So far, we’ve trained just over 1,650 specialised special forces troops, both marines and commandos (…). We’ve also trained more than a hundred trainers,” said Brigadier General João Gonçalves of the Portuguese Air Force, who leads EUTM-MOZ, on the sidelines of the ceremony in Maputo on Saturday to mark Europe Day (9 May).
“We are empowering the Mozambique Armed Defence Forces [FADM] with trainers so that they can be autonomous and continue to maintain this cycle of training and the life cycle of the QRF [11 Rapid Reaction Forces] themselves because they have to be regenerated,” he added, stressing that the training provided is “considered adequate” by the FADM “for the type of insurgency” in Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country.
The Mozambican commandos and marines trained by EUTM-MOZ are on the ground at a time when the withdrawal of military forces from southern African countries that supported Mozambique in the fight against terrorism is underway.
“We are convinced that the training and the number of soldiers we are training is decisive in the approach to the conflict in Cabo Delgado,” he stressed, while also recognising the “very positive” feedback from these soldiers’ actions on the ground.
“The Mozambican authorities, the elements themselves, the soldiers we’ve been training, have been very appreciative of the work we’ve been doing. It’s important to note that this has been a continuous evolution and we’ve had the flexibility and capacity to adapt as the conflict in the north evolves, as well as the needs of the FADM itself,” Brigadier General João Gonçalves explained.
He added that the training provided by the military of European Union countries is “in a process of continuous improvement”.
“The minister of defence [of Mozambique] just this week made very complimentary comments about the QRF’s performance, which corresponds to the information we have about their level of performance,” he said.
The EUTM-MOZ training mission includes 119 soldiers from 13 member states, more than half from Portugal, but has the particularity of including two other countries, outside the European Union, which contribute one soldier each, in the cases of Serbia and Cabo Verde.
“This is a practice that we’re sharing with the FADM, specifically in these special forces units. These practices are slowly stratifying and passing on to the other forces, obviously in a slower process, but it’s passing on. In other words, in essence, this contributes to improving the overall efficiency of the FADM themselves,” emphasised the EUTM-MOZ commander.
Through the European Peace Facility, the European Union has also supported the Mozambican Armed Forces with €89 million for the acquisition of non-lethal equipment for the units trained by EUTM-MOZ, a mission with a two-year mandate that ends next September, and the political decision-making process on its continuation is underway.
“The strategic review is underway, and I think the final decision will be announced soon. But Mozambique has expressed its desire for us to continue, and this is also a vote of appreciation for what we are doing. The indications I have are that the European Union and the member states are making this assessment in order to make a final decision very soon, probably in the next few weeks,” concluded Brigadier General João Gonçalves, recognising the “cycle of sharing” of these almost two years and the “symbiosis” achieved with the Mozambican military.
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