The Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) announced on Thursday that it will withdraw its forces from Cabo Delgado, effectively ending its peacekeeping mission in the province.
"[The SAMIM mission] turns out to be an example for the African continent and beyond, conceived as a regional strategic mechanism from the perspective of African solution to African problems," Mozambican Defense Minister Cristovao Chume said during the ceremony.
Chume remarked that the terrorist bases had been eliminated, allowing commercial activity to resume, individuals to move freely, and the inhabitants to gradually return to their homes.
He warned that despite SAMIM's advances and withdrawal, terrorist groups still operate in several Cabo Delgado regions, generating instability.
During the ceremony, the minister paid tribute to the families of soldiers killed in the operations and displayed weapons confiscated from terrorists since 2021.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in Mozambique was deployed with a 3,000-strong force in July 2021, as approved by the Extraordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government.
The mission aimed to restore peace and security, protect civilians, and support the Mozambican government in its efforts to address the insurgency and violence in Cabo Delgado province.