FOLLOWING a recent military siege on the northern Mozambican town of Palma by Islamist insurgents, killing dozens, including a Zimbabwean, while leaving a trail of bloodshed and destruction in its wake, President Emmerson Mnangagwa deployed special forces to the gas-rich Cabo Delgado Province to battle the rampaging militants.
Security sources told The NewsHawks this week that Zimbabwe
deployed combat special forces to help Mozambicans with the Palma “sweeping
campaign” at the end of March, a week after the deadly attack.
“Zimbabwe sent some special forces team into Cabo Delgado
in the aftermath of the siege on Palma by Islamic insurgents to help clear out
the militants,” a security source said.
“Soon after the Palma attack, the special forces were
deployed working under the Mozambican army to help drive out the militants.
They had to go in because of the surprise attack which marked a serious
escalation, the subsequent bloodbath and also that there are Zimbabweans who
are in there, one of them was actually killed.”
Zimbabwe’s deployment will be followed by a quick regional
military manoeuvre under the Mozambican army. Sadc countries want a collective
response to avoid being targeted by insurgents individually.
Mozambique prefers a strategic Sadc technical deployment to
avoid inflaming the situation into a regional conflict and making the situation
worse by drawing in more terrorists from outside.
This comes as Sadc defence ministers from South Africa,
Botswana and Zimbabwe – which form the troika of the organ on politics, defence
and security cooperation – are due to meet on Wednesday next week to finalise
the regional intervention in Mozambique ahead of troika leaders’ summit the
following day.
Addressing a Zanu PF politburo meeting on Wednesday in
Harare, Mnangagwa sounded belligerent and ready for action, a further sign
Zimbabwe was already on the ground.
“As Zanu PF, we stand in solidarity with our sister party,
Frelimo as well as the Government and people of the Republic of Mozambique in
the wake of the ongoing disturbances in Cabo Delgado Province, in northern
Mozambique. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. United we stand.
Hence, we cannot sit back and allow acts of insurgency to continue without a
robust regional response. Last week, I therefore attended the Sadc double
troika summit in Mozambique, where the regional bloc resolved to immediately
make technical deployments towards restoring peace and stability,” Mnangagwa
was quoted as saying by the state-controlled daily The Herald.
“Government is currently working with the Mozambican
authorities to establish the number of our nationals who were entrapped during
the attack of Palma town, on March 24, 2021. Against this disturbing
background, the party structures across all provinces must ensure that our
communities are on high-security alert. Let us continue to jealously guard the
peace and stability that is existing in our country.”
It was confirmed this week that a Zimbabwean hospitality and
catering worker, Nyasha Mugwagwa, was killed in Palma. The government, working
with his family and the Mozambican authorities, are frantically trying engage a
forensic pathologist to exhume his body and repatriate it home for reburial.
The sources said Zimbabwe sent special forces mainly drawn
from One Commando Regiment (formerly One Commando Battalion, previously the
Rhodesian Light Infantry), based at Cranborne Barracks in Harare and the
Special Air Service.
The special forces deployed to Mozambique are more or less
the size of a platoon, which usually has about four squads (of between seven
and 14 troops each) up to 50 soldiers and is commanded by a lieutenant, the
sources said.
The commando regiment is one of the special forces units in
the Zimbabwe Defence Forces entrusted with difficult critical operations.
The role of the commandos and other special units is to
conduct special operations – like the sweeping of Palma – across an operating
continuum, typically expeditionary in nature.
“The commandos usually operate either as an independent
force element or in support of joint manoeuvres for the conduct of advanced
force operations or precision strike missions. In this case, Zimbabwean special
forces will operate under the aegis of the Mozambican army,” a security source
said.
“They can operate on their own as they are trained to
exceptionally high levels, both physically and psychologically and are expected
to perform accordingly, but there are political and operational factors that
come into play like in this case.”
Commandos are renowned for being mentally tough,
quick-thinking and keeping a cool head in difficult and complex situations.
They are highly trained and skilled in a range of advanced specialist weapons
and equipment.
“Commandos operate in small units. For instance, each
commando team can be a small group of four or five fighting troops, with a
heavy weapons troop, and a signals platoon,” the source said.
“These soldiers are taken from trained troops for further
training. The units are trained to conduct special activities, which include
military manoeuvres conducted by specially designated, organised, trained, and
equipped forces.”
In Zimbabwe, the selection process for special forces
training includes four-day day and night navigation in the Zambezi Valley,
while carrying a 30kg weight on an empty stomach.
Further, the training curriculum includes river crossing,
mountain climbing, reconnaissance, anti-hijacking, sniping, unarmed combat,
tracking and bush craft. Also included is jungle survival on wild fruits and
natural remedies for medical treatment.
The special forces have been deployed in several African
conflicts, including the Mozambique Civil War in the 1980s and 1990s and the
Second Congo War from 1998-2002 for Zimbabwe.
The latest Zimbabwean deployment came a week prior to the
Southern African Development Community (Sadc) double troika summit in Maputo on
8 April, which authorised an “immediate technical deployment” into the
conflict-ravaged Cabo Delgado region.
The double troika summit combined the Sadc main summit and
the troika of the organ on politics, defence and security cooperation summit.
It was attended by six regional leaders, including Sadc chair, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and Sadc organ troika head, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi.
Security ministers are meeting on 28 April to refine the
roadmap for intervention in Mozambique, while security service chiefs are
already working on a plan to send in the Sadc standby force.
Although Nyusi wants help, his government is opposed to
foreign armies converging in Mozambique in large numbers as he fears that would
trigger a regional conflict – drawing in more terrorists – and make the
situation worse.
The insurgents have killed over 2 000 people and displaced
more than 750 000. Even with clashes
from the actual battle for Palma over, insecurity in the town continued this
week, according to the Cabo Delgado weekly bulletin.
Zimbabwe Defence Forces spokesperson Colonel Teddy Ndlovu
denied the army has deployed special forces to Mozambique.
“Thats not true and in any case if something like that
happens I will advise the nation. You can’t hide that kind of information. I
advise that you also look at the Sadc deployment schedules so that you know the
meetings that need to take place and what needs to happen before deployment.”
Mnangagwa’s spokesman George Charamba said: “Zimbabwe will
take part as part of the Sadc brigade. The best person to ask would be (Sadc
executive secretary) Dr (Stergomena) Tax.” NewsHawks
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