South African Development Community summit will begin in Gaborone

A South African Development Community (SADC) summit lasting until May 28 will begin today in Gaborone, Botswana.

SADC focuses on furthering regional socio-economic, political and security cooperation among its 16 members. As part of a regional defense pact, SADC maintains provisions for military intervention by a standby brigade to prevent the spread of destabilizing conflicts.

SADC member Mozambique is struggling to confront an Islamic insurgency in its north. The conflict has displaced thousands of civilians and jeopardized a $20 billion LNG project by French firm Total SE. Though Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi accepted foreign intelligence assistance, he has avoided calls for military intervention out of concern it will compromise Mozambique’s sovereignty.

During the summit, expect SADC members like South Africa to call for intervention by the bloc’s brigade. President Nyusi will likely be receptive to a military intervention offer due to the insurgency’s rising economic and humanitarian toll, but he is expected to insist on strict parameters maintaining Mozambique’s control over the actions of foreign troops. Still, the SADC will likely only intervene if all members contribute troops to avoid the sovereignty concerns seen in previous interventions. Should SADC fail to act, eyes will likely turn to the US and Portugal.