Government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has described as “security insensitive” social media reports that President Lazarus Chakwera is intending to send his Malawi Defence Force(MDF) soldiers to Mozambique to fight Islamist insurgents.
Through a press statement released today Monday from the Ministry, says the reports that have been circulating on social are contrary to what the leaders agreed at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Extraordinary Troika Summit plus Force Intervention Brigade on November 27 2020 in Gaborone, Botswana.
Part of the statement reads: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to refute false claims going around the social media that His Excellency Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of Republic of Malawi, committed to send Malawi troops to Mozambique, to help fight the Islamist insurgents that have suppressed the Matambale village in Cabo Delgado province in Mozambique.”
The statement further said the SADC Troika Summit did not discuss anything relating to deploying troops to Mozambique. However, the statement said the delegates at the summit just discussed peace and security in the Republic of Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) and that regarding sending troops to Mozambique, the Troika Summit directed a finalization of comprehensive regional response and from there, the decision will be made.
“This entail that no member of Troika organ committed to send troops to Mozambique as the support response is yet to be considered, ” adds the statement.
Meanwhile, the Ministry has urged Malawians to disregard the information disseminated and to avoid commenting on matters relating to national security.
The same statement was also enchoed by the State House Press Secretary Brian Banda during today’s Weekly briefs in Blantyre, which he said President Chakwera is not sending troops in that country.
Northern Mozambique has been experiencing terrorists attacks, in which 57 people were beheaded and thousand others fled their homes.
