Good afternoon. Namibian President Hage Geingob confirmed yesterday that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will extend its military mission in Cabo Delgado province for a third time. This was a foregone conclusion - the current mission was set to expire on 15 July and the South African Treasury has already allocated ZAR850 million to support its deployment in 2023/24.
Absent from Geingob’s statement was the more significant news that SADC has committed to conclude its mission by July 2024, with a phased drawdown of troops from December, according to meeting minutes seen by Zitamar News.
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From the Zitamar Live Blog:
This decision should not come as a shock. SADC’s political will to fight Mozambique’s insurgents was not going to last forever, especially now the community is gearing up to launch another intervention against the M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo in September – another decision confirmed by Geingob on Tuesday.
