The Army Chief of Staff of Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), Maj Gen Vincent Nyakarundi, on Friday, March 12, briefed a joint contingent of RDF and Rwanda National Police officers who will depart for Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, to relieve their colleagues currently deployed in the Southern African country.

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The briefing took place at Kami Barracks and was attended by the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Operations, Commissioner of Police Vincent Sano.

Nyakarundi told the troops that their mission is to protect civilians from terrorism and urged them to serve as good ambassadors of Rwanda.

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He emphasized the importance of discipline, teamwork, and professionalism, encouraging them to remain fully committed to their duties, just as their predecessors have done.

This followed Nyakarundi&039;s visit to Cabo Delgado in late February, where he met with Mozambican military leaders. They assessed the security situation and future operations in the province once paralysed by an Islamic State-linked insurgency.

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Rwanda Security Forces have been fighting terrorism in Cabo Delgado for over four years. Deployed at the request of Maputo in July 2021, the Rwandan troops have since conducted joint operations with the Mozambican armed forces (FADM) to secure areas that had been affected by the Ansar al Sunna wal Jamaa armed group.

Economic activities, airports, and ports have reopened and hundreds of thousands of displaced people have returned to their homes in the districts of Mocimboa da Praia, Palma and Ancuabe, which were most affected by terrorist attacks.

In late January, French multinational TotalEnergies announced the resumption of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which had been halted due to insecurity in the province located on the coast of the Indian Ocean.