EU MILITARY TRAINING MISSION IN MOZAMBIQUE SET TO START ITS OPERATIONS

Fri 15 October 2021:

EU Council today adopted a decision launching the European Union Military Training Mission in Mozambique (EUTM Mozambique). The mission will support a more efficient and effective response by the Mozambican armed forces.

EUTM MOZ will be fully operational in two months and will begin training the African country’s military forces to respond to the crisis in the northern Cabo Delgado province.

The mission was formed by a decision made by the Council in July.

“EUTM MOZ will become operational as soon as the ongoing handover from the Portuguese Armed Forces Training Project is concluded, and is expected to reach full operational capability by mid-December 2021. It will rely on around 140 military personnel divided between two training centres – one for commando training and one for marines,” the Council said in a statement.

The two-year mission will focus on boosting the capacity of the country’s military forces that will operate as a quick response force in the future.

The common costs for EUTM Mozambique, to be covered via the European Peace Facility, were evaluated at €15.16 million for a period of two years. In addition, the Council approved on 30 July an urgent assistance measure under the European Peace Facility for a total of €4 million to complement the training of military units with the provision of non-lethal individual and collective equipment.

The mission will teach Mozambican soldiers in operations planning, counter-terrorism, and civilian protection, as well as provide compliance with international humanitarian law and rights. However, it will not be part of military operations.

“The mission commander is the Director of the Military Planning and Conduct Capability (MPCC), Vice Admiral Herve Blejean, while Brigadier General Nuno Lemos Pires is the EU Mission Force Commander and leads the mission on the ground. The MPCC is the mission headquarters, responsible for the operational planning and conduct of EUTM Mozambique,” the statement added.

In 2017, rebel attacks in the Cabo Delgado province escalated. Militants attacked the town of Palma in March, killing dozens of people and forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes.

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