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Brussels (dpa) - In response to the growing influence of terrorists in northern Mozambique, the EU is considering starting a military operation to support government troops.
"We will try to send a training mission like the one we have in the Sahel zone in order to make the security situation in Mozambique manageable," said EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell on Thursday at a meeting of defense ministers of the EU countries in Brussels.
The government of the Southeast African country asked for help.
According to Borrell, Portugal has already agreed to provide troops for an EU mission.
According to Federal Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Germany does not want to participate with soldiers.
The CDU politician pointed out that the Bundeswehr is already heavily involved in the training mission in Mali.
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Islamist rebels have been carrying out brutal attacks in northern Mozambique since 2017.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 530,000 people have been displaced.
According to experts, the rebellion has its roots in the grievances and complaints of the inhabitants of the region, which is very poor and has been neglected by the government for years.
Most recently, there had been multiple attacks on the coastal city of Palma, among other things.
In the region, the French energy company Total is involved in a liquid gas project worth almost 17 billion euros.
In response to the terrorist offensive, it brought around 1,000 employees to safety.
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) recently warned of a worsening crisis in the conflict province of Cabo Delgado.
Thousands of people are on the run in the midst of the violence.
Almost a million people are currently affected by great hunger.
After an attack on the city of Palma in March alone, 50,000 people fled.
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What exactly an EU mission in Mozambique could look like initially remained unclear.
Up to 1,077 soldiers are involved in the training mission for the Sahel zone (EUTM Mali), which Borrell named as a landmark.
Germany recently provided up to 450 of them. From June 1, there will be as many as 600 soldiers.
The aim of the mission is to support the armed forces in the region through advice and training so that they can effectively counter threats from terrorist groups.
However, the mandate does not include participation in combat missions.
Criticism of the plans for an EU military operation in Mozambique came from the left in the German Bundestag on Thursday.
"The last thing the people there need are troops deployed by the former colonial powers or from countries whose corporations are involved in natural gas exploitation off the coast of Mozambique," commented Sevim Dagdelen, chairman of the Left Group in the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Instead, Mozambique urgently needs international help to avert an impending famine.
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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210506-99-496692 / 3
Preliminary agenda
EU information on the mission in Mali