EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has expressed hope in sending a military training mission to Mozambique quickly to help authorities facing a jihadist insurgency.
After a meeting of EU defence ministers, Borrell said a potential European Union training mission is being considered which would hopefully be launched as soon as possible.”
He said that Mozambique’s former colonial ruler Portugal had committed to providing half of the troops and “already sent in advance military instructors” who could be incorporated into an eventual EU mission.
Borrell argued that the initiative could bolster the EU’s global clout, but said that it had been met with reluctance by some member states.
The push for a military mission to assist Mozambique came as Defence Ministers launched a debate on bolstering the bloc’s capabilities to respond quickly to crises, including a preliminary proposal to create a 5,000-strong rapid reaction force.
Jihadists waging a three-year-old insurgency swooped on the coastal town of Palma on March 24, killing dozens of people and triggering an exodus that included workers on a multi-billion-dollar liquefied natural gas project.
Borrell however said the plan was not “cast in stone” and was a proposal being put forward as the bloc conducts a review of its overall security strategy that is expected to be completed next year.
But German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer appeared uninterested in the proposal stating it was just one of the thousands of ideas that are currently being discussed.
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