Namibia deploys 17 troops abroad

The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) has deployed 17 troops to support the country’s peace missions abroad.

Defence minister Frans Kapofi shared this update during a briefing in Windhoek on Monday.

According to Kapofi, seven officers remain stationed in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region as part of the region’s mission in Mozambique, while Namibia actively contributes to the planning of the SADC mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Additionally, ten officers, comprising eight males and two females, have been deployed to serve as military observers or staff officers with the United Nations Interim Security Forces for Abyei (UNISFA) and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

President Hage Geingob, concluding his term as the chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence, and Security in August, called for increased interventions to address conflicts in the DRC and Mozambique.

Since 2017, Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province has been embroiled in a conflict between authorities and radicalised fighters, leading to the displacement of thousands.

The United Nations’ International Organisation for Migration reports a record 7 million internally displaced people in the DRC due to escalating violence. Notably, the conflict between M23 rebels and militias loyal to the DRC’s government has heightened in North Kivu, particularly north of the provincial capital Goma, since early October.

“The ministry has participated in several peace initiatives in the SADC region as well as in the rest of the African continent,” Kapofi said during his ministry’s information briefing earlier this week.

Internally, Kapofi said while the provision and maintenance of internal security fall within the purview of the Namibian Police, the NDF has a supportive role.

He said the NDF and the police collaborated in upholding law and order. Joint efforts extended to conducting anti-poaching operations in major national parks—Etosha, Mangetti and Bwabwata—supporting the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.

Notably, he said, these operations resulted in the interception and arrest of illegal dealers and poachers, with preventive measures thwarting some of their plans.

“In the same vein, the NDF has maintained its deployments in the Zambezi Region in areas such as Sangwali, Ngoma, Kapani, Kasika, Linyanti, Malegalenga and Liansulu combating illegal border crossings and other cross-border crimes,” Kapofi said.

Additionally, Kapofi said the ministry extended support by providing relief during disasters.

This, he said, included the efforts in assisting the Office of the Prime Minister with the distribution of flood and drought relief aid.

Currently, nineteen trucks and thirty-eight drivers are dedicated to eight regions, facilitating the distribution of drought relief aid.

Kapofi said activities carried out by the ministry since April this year have been a resounding success.

“The multitude of activities that have to be carried out with very little resources was a serious challenge,” Kapofi said.

Kapofi further said veterans of the national liberation struggle, experiencing health issues from their participation, receive assistance for medical expenses at state health facilities.

If treatment isn’t available there, the ministry facilitates their care at private health facilities.

“The ministry also provides counselling services to ensure that veterans who have social and psychological problems receive the necessary psychosocial support. This is usually done through the provision of individual, group or family counselling, as well as through a referral system to other professionals if need be,” he said.