Military exercises involving land, sea and air forces from several member states of SADC (Southern African Development Community) will take place in the northern Mozambican province of Nampula in the first 10 days of June.
The spokesperson for the Defence Ministry, Lazaro Mathe, told a Maputo press conference on Friday that the exercises, centred on the port city of Nacala, seek to train soldiers of the region in humanitarian aid and peace keeping operations.
Mathe said the exercises will be headed by a Mozambican general, and are being organised by Mozambique in partnership with France.
Taking part will be troops from Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana, Tanzania, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. Portuguese and French military personnel will be observing the exercises.
Mathe said that over 1,000 troops from the region will be involved, including 450 from Mozambique. He added that the exercises should be seen in the context of increasing regional capacity to take part in humanitarian and peace-keeping operations in the framework of SADC, the African Union, and the United Nations.
Mathe did not say how much the exercises will cost, but claimed that each participating country will make a financial contribution.
Asked about the 200 Mozambican soldiers who are part of the African military force in Burundi, Mathe said that their situation was "normal", and that they have received praise for carrying out their duties with zeal and competence.
Fonte: AIM
