Shut down and demobilisation of the South African contingent for the now over Southern African Development Community (SADC) peace support mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) saw 6 SA Infantry (SAI) Battalion elements touch down at Bram Fisher International Airport this week.
Before heading home to Makhanda in the Eastern Cape province, the men and women of the SA Army Infantry Formation specialist air assault unit will undergo thorough debriefing at the Joint Mobilisation and Demobilisation Headquarters outside Bloemfontein.
National Treasury (NT), under the leadership and management of South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, last month (October) approved spending R750 million for expenses related to the deployment of SA National Defence Force personnel as part of the SADC mission in Mozambique through Operation Vikela in his Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS).
The regional bloc mission in Mozambique ceased operations against ASWJ (Al Sunnah wa Jama’ah)/Islamic State in Cabo Delgado with an official closure on 11 July. In addition to South Africa, other troop and materiel contribution came from Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
On arrival at Bram Fischer International Airport on 2 November, 6 SAI was officially welcomed home by Major General G Thulare, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Joint Operations headquarters. He is reported as saying the commitment under difficult conditions in the allocated mission area was appreciated, not only by the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) but also SADC and the South African people at large.
Just under 1 500 SANDF troops participated in Operation Vikela since 2021. The SANDF is also returning equipment from Mozambique, with a ship carrying Casspir armoured vehicles and other equipment departing Pemba last month.
Security in the restive Cabo Delgado province is now the responsibility of Mozambique’s armed forces (FADM) and a large contingent of Rwandan soldiers who are in Mozambique as part of a bilateral agreement with the southern African nation.
.
