Rwanda has warned it will withdraw its troops from insurgency-hit Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique if sustainable funding and political support for the counter-terrorism mission are not secured.
Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Olivier Nduhungirehe said Kigali’s position is clear and not merely hypothetical.
“It’s not that Rwanda could withdraw, it’s that Rwanda will withdraw its troops from Mozambique if sustainable funding is not secured for its counter-terrorism operations in Cabo Delgado,” Nduhungirehe said.
Rwanda deployed troops to the gas-rich northern province in July 2021 at the request of Mozambique after militants linked to Islamic State destabilised the region, capturing towns and forcing hundreds of thousands of residents to flee.
Since the deployment, the Rwanda Defence Force has played a central role in restoring security in several areas, allowing internally displaced people to return home and enabling schools, businesses and local administration to reopen.
Nduhungirehe said Rwanda has paid a significant cost for the mission and expects recognition and sustained support from international partners.
“We didn’t pay hundreds of millions of dollars and our RDF soldiers didn’t pay the ultimate sacrifice to stabilize this region, allow IDPs to return home, children to go back to school, businesses to reopen, and mega investments in LNG to resume,” he said.
“Just to see our valiant soldiers being constantly questioned, vilified, criticised, blamed or sanctioned by the very countries that greatly benefit from our intervention in Mozambique,” he added.
“Indeed, we are ready to leave Mozambique if our work and achievements are not appreciated.”
Earlier, Rwanda’s government spokesperson Yolande Makolo also warned that the sustainability of the mission depends on predictable international funding.
She said if the command of the Rwanda Defence Force determines that the contribution of Rwandan forces in Cabo Delgado is not sufficiently valued, it would be justified in advising the government to end the bilateral counter-terrorism deployment.
The Rwandan mission has been widely credited with helping stabilise parts of Cabo Delgado, a region hosting multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas projects that had been severely disrupted by insurgent attacks since 2017.