With just over four months ahead of mandate expiry of its training mission in Mozambique, the European Union (EU) will evolve it to a military assistance one with an extended lifespan.
The mandate of what will be known as EUTM MOZ (EU Training Mission Mozambique) until 31 August will now go through to 30 June 2026 as EUMAM (EU Military Assistance Mission) Mozambique.
The renamed mission has a 14 million plus Euro budget from the European bloc in pursuit of what a statement said are “new circumstances”. This will see it move from a pure training mission to an assistance model, combining advising, mentoring and specialised training for FADM (Forcas Armadas de Defesa de Mozambique) quick reaction force (QRF) units.
EUTM MOZ is part of the EU integrated approach encompassing humanitarian, peacebuilding, security and development actions and was set up in July 2021. It sole aim was and remains, until end August, training and supporting Mozambican armed forces in protecting civilians and restoring safety and security in Cabo Delgado province, where the security and humanitarian situation has continuously deteriorated since 2017.
The mission to date supported capacity building of FADM units now part of the QRF. The mission provided military training on operational preparation, specialised counter-terrorism as well as training and education on protecting civilians and compliance with international humanitarian and human rights laws.
At the height of operations, EUTM MOZ had a personnel strength of 140 spread among three training bases – Dongo, Katembe and Mavalane. Command post exercises (CPXs), offensive, defensive and enabling operations as well as administrative, logistic and tactical deployment along with close air support are on the training curriculum.
