President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said Zimbabwe is ready to assist neighbouring Mozambique amid an escalating Islamist insurgency in the northern Cabo Delgado province.
He tweeted that the “security of our region is paramount in the protection of our people”.
He said, “I am deeply shocked by recent reports of terrorist activity in Mozambique. These acts of barbarity must be stamped out wherever they are found.
“Zimbabwe is ready to assist in any way we can. The security of our region is paramount in the protection of our people.”
Mozambican leader Filipe Nyusi met Mr Mnangagwa in May to seek military support from the Southern African Development Community’s security body.
In October, Mozambican daily Expresso da Manha reported that the US had asked Zimbabwe to assist Mozambique with counterinsurgency operations. Zimbabwe agreed on condition that the US lift sanctions.
In one of the latest attacks in Cabo Delgado, militants beheaded at least 50 people over a period of three days in a football stadium in Muatide village.
The privately-owned O Pais website reported on Tuesday that the militants also attempted to raid three of the largest prisons in the northern province. It is unclear when the attacks took place.
The conflict, which broke out in 2017, threatens to destabilise the region as the insurgents begin making inroads in Tanzania’s Mtwara region, which borders Mozambique to the north.