Islamist hit Mozambique sacks defence, interior ministers

Islamist hit Mozambique sacks defence, interior ministers

MAPUTO (AFP) - Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has fired his defence and interior ministers, questioning their competence as the country battles a four-year Islamist insurgency.

Nyusi s office issued a terse statement on Wednesday announcing that the defence minister Jaime Neto had been "relieved" of his duties.

A day earlier, a similar statement announced the sacking of interior minister Amade Muquidade.

No explanation was given for the dismissal of the two key ministers, appointed just under two years ago.

But on Wednesday Nyusi gave a hint.

"A leader or commander in the area of defense and security cannot afford to sleep (on the job), especially during war times," he said in an address before a military sergeants  graduation ceremony.

"The positions you hold do not allow you to be distracted. Your responsibilities are clear, the armed forces must defend the nation," he said in the capital Maputo.

Dozens of soldiers were recently arrested on suspicion of ransacking commercial banks during the jihadist attack on the port city of Palma in March this year.

Until recently when foreign forces deployed to help, the Mozambican army had struggled to fight off the brutal Islamist insurgency.

Since July, more than 3,100 African, European and US soldiers have been deployed to the Cabo Delgado province to quell the unrest.

At least 3,340 people have been killed and more than 800,000 other displaced there since 2017.