Maputo, May 21, 2026 (Lusa) – Rwandan authorities have announced that its military forces will remain in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado Province to combat terrorism, criticising the fact that two requests to the European Union for financial support were received with “reluctance”, a burden that will now be shouldered by Mozambique.
"The collaboration between the two governments has been successful and will continue along the same lines, as the work of the Rwandan security forces in Cabo Delgado is acknowledged by our brother country, Mozambique," Rwanda's Foreign Minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, stated in a message on social media platform X.
The EU will end its financial support to the Rwandan military operation in Cabo Delgado, following the disbursement of €40 million over two phases, the initial package and its renewal. Rwanda has maintained this operation for five years to support Mozambican armed forces in combating terrorist groups which have been operating since 2017 in the region that holds some of Africa's largest Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) reserves.
"During the same period, Rwandan security forces benefited from assistance from the European Peace Facility (EPF), with an amount that represents a small fraction of Rwanda's actual expenditure in Mozambique and EU investments in Cabo Delgado," Nduhungirehe said.
"Regrettably, we noted that the two requests from the government of Rwanda to Brussels were met with reluctance and politicised by some EU member states (including our two former colonial powers [referring to Portugal and Belgium]), transforming crucial support for the Mozambican people into an irrational criticism of Rwanda, thrown to the lions by the very countries that benefit economically from our intervention in Cabo Delgado," he stated.
He said that, "this year, Rwanda has gone back to basics and decided to deal exclusively with the Mozambican government, which, for its part, has guaranteed and will continue to guarantee the necessary funding for the Rwandan security forces in Cabo Delgado."
Nduhungirehe said that Rwandan forces intervened in Cabo Delgado in 2021 at the invitation of the government of Mozambique, describing the mission as "highly successful."
"Peace and stability were restored, families returned home, children went back to school, businesses reopened, Mozambican forces were (and continue to be) trained, and European/American companies were able to safely resume their US$50 billion [€43.1 billion] investments in LNG," he said.
Rwanda's government confirmed in April that it has more than 6,300 military personnel fighting terrorism in northern Mozambique, tripling the 2021 deployment. Officials reaffirmed the need for a "sustainable funding framework" to continue operations.
"Rwanda has repeatedly argued that the long-term deployment of our security forces in joint counter-terrorism operations in Mozambique requires a sustainable funding framework. Having so far borne most of the financial burden of these operations, a transition to more equitable funding is a strategic necessity," Rwanda's government spokesperson Yolande Makolo stated at the time.
Reacting on her official X account to international media reports regarding negotiations between Rwanda, the US, and the EU, Makolo said that the responsibility for securing this funding lies with Mozambique's government.
"Rwanda has not requested and will not request additional funds from the European Peace Facility. That is a matter for Mozambique. Rwanda's deployment requires sustainable funding, and it is up to the host government and its partners with large investments in Cabo Delgado to provide it, as has always been the case," she said.
This position emerged as the EU's financial support for the operation approaches its scheduled conclusion in May, marking the end of a 36-month period and €40 million in disbursements. Concurrently, the US, which funds the LNG megaproject led by French firm TotalEnergies in Cabo Delgado, imposed sanctions on the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) due to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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