Botswana soldier deployed in the Islamic Insurgency Mozambique crisis Dies

A member of the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) died in Mozambique where he had been deployed to fight the Islamic insurgents in the Cabo Delgado province.

The BDF issued a statement saying their member died on the 9th of this month adding that investigations are underway to determine the cause of death.

According to the statement issued by the BDF, one of its members lost his life on 09 February 2022 in Mueda, Cabo Delgado Province Mozambique.

The late BDF member was part of the second Botswana Contingent deployed under the auspices of SADC, for regional support to the Republic of Mozambique to combat the threat of terrorism and acts of violent extremism in the Cabo Delgado Province as an element of the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM).

Investigations to determine the cause of the incident that resulted in his death are ongoing and the BDF requests the public to accord the family and friends of the deceased the privacy they deserve during this difficult time.

in July 2021, Botswana sent 296 troops to Mozambique Monday to join soldiers from other Southern African Development Community, or SADC, countries.

The SADC troops were being deployed for the first time to quell a deadly Islamist insurgency in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique’s northernmost province.

The civil unrest has claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people while an estimated 800,000 people have been displaced.