Africa Trend, Vol 13 Issue 1, Jan-June 2024 (FINAL

Abhishek Mishra* On 15th July 2021, the South African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) was deployed in the Cabo Delgado province in northeastern Mozambique as a regional response to support Mozambique in The mission comprised of combatting terrorism and acts of violent extremism.1 troops from eight South African The mission comprised of troops from eight South Development Commun. [...] In this context, this article takes a stock of the genesis of civil war in Cabo Delgado and discusses some of the pre-deployment considerations the SADC had to take. [...] The article assesses the degree to which the SAMIM missions’ objectives were met and highlights the primary challenges faced by the mission. [...] During 2023, there was a 71 percent decrease in violence in Cabo Delgado province due to the mission’s operations.4 Some reports indicated that SADC was successful in regaining control of 90 percent of territory from the insurgents by the end of 2023.5 The advances the mission made in combatting the insurgents between 2021 and 2023 led to two crucial decisions. [...] Another mandate of the mission was to provide training and enhance the capabilities of the FADM to conduct counter-insurgency operations in the future.