Rwandan army

Rwanda’s army spokesman, Ronald Rwivanga, made a positive assessment on Thursday of the presence of Rwandan troops in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, estimating that they have caused at least 70 casualties among the insurgents. “Our forces are advancing towards Mocímboa da Praia (…) and having successes on the way. They are approaching the city, and so far, everything seems to be going according to plan,” the official told Lusa by telephone. Asked about the Rwandan forces, Rwivanga estimated the number of insurgent casualties at about 70, pointing out that this may be higher.

“When we talk about numbers, these are the ones we see physically. The reports coming to us say that the insurgents are taking away their fighters who were killed in combat, so the possibility is that the number is much higher than what we have seen,” he explained, adding that “even the 70 may not be accurate. “The numbers we project and the equipment we have confiscated is what we mainly see with our eyes. So much more may have happened that we have not seen,” he also mentioned. Rwivanga pointed out that Rwandan troops have mostly been facing “small groups” that “are everywhere”. He said they were using “rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and anti-aircraft guns” and move around easily on motorbikes.

According to the same source, Rwandan troops have confiscated this equipment after clashes with insurgent groups. In Cabo Delgado, there is a contingent of 1,000 soldiers and police from Rwanda to fight the armed groups under a bilateral agreement between the Mozambican government and the Kigali authorities. Last week, the consultancy NKC African Economics said that the presence of Rwandan troops in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado “seems to have made a positive contribution to the fighting so far”.

“Contacting Rwanda for assistance before [doing so with] its regional partners was a curious move, but the presence of the Rwandan army in the province seems to have contributed positively to the fighting so far,” the analysts wrote in a note consulted by Lusa.

As well as Rwanda, Mozambique now has support from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in a mandate for a “joint force on standby” approved on 23 June at an extraordinary summit of the organisation in Maputo, which discussed the armed violence in that province, with military personnel from some member countries already on the ground. The total number of troops that the organisation will send to Mozambique is not publicly known, but SADC experts in Cabo Delgado said in April that the mission would be made up of around 3,000 soldiers.Armed groups have been terrorising Cabo Delgado province since 2017, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State. Following the attacks, there are more than 3,100 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and more than 817,000 displaced people, according to Mozambican authorities.