Tanzania and Mozambique Leaders Meet Over Worsening Insecurity

Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi has concluded a one-day state visit to Tanzania where bolstering bilateral cooperation and security between the two neighbouring countries were top of the agenda.

President John Magufuli and Mr Nyusi did not issue a joint statement as many observers had expected but Mr Nyusi said after the meeting that they had “talked about the security situation”.

Mozambique’s northernmost province of Cabo Delgado, which borders Tanzania’s southern Mtwara region, has been riven by violence since 2017.

An Islamist militant group, which has pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State group, has carried out raids and deadly attacks killing hundreds and displacing thousands of people in the gas-rich region.

In one of the worst attacks in November, the militants beheaded more than 50 people in a football pitch in Cabo Delgado.

This attack happened weeks after the militants crossed the border to Mtwara region and killed an unspecified number of people.

Concerned about the insurgency spilling into its territory, Tanzania deployed troops along its southern border.

Police chiefs from both countries have also held meetings to assess the situation.

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