🇺🇸🇿🇦🇲🇿 US spies land in SA to discuss Mozambique - Rapport

US intelligence officials were in South Africa last week to discuss the situation in Mozambique with their counterparts. Rising political tensions and a looming popular uprising have Mozambique on edge as the country holds its breath over the findings of an inquiry into October's national election, which the ruling party, Frelimo, won amid great controversy.

The Americans' C-17 Globemaster plane landed at the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIL). According to Rapport's sources, it is also here that meetings with the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee (NICOC) were held.

America has already had a training team in Mozambique for the last few years helping with the training of a specialist response unit in the Mozambican army.

At the same time, a British Air Force Airbus A400M landed in Gaborone, Botswana on Friday. The call sign of this aircraft indicates an emergency operational flight.

According to Rapport's aviation sources, several meetings have been held at the Lanseria airport in the last few days to discuss the emergency evacuation of various embassies and foreigners in Mozambique.

The respective forward teams in South Africa wanted to make sure, among other things, that there is enough fuel at Lanseria for additional flights to temporarily house their countrymen who may be removed from Mozambique before they fly out of the country.

The various agencies of the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are all involved in these plans. The operations - should it become necessary - will be coordinated from South Africa and Botswana, Rapport learned. NICOC consists of representatives from state security, defense and crime intelligence, as well as the financial intelligence centre. Additional departments may also be involved

📝 Insiders in the intelligence community say the Americans and other embassy staff in Mozambique are already busy with contingency planning in anticipation of the constitutional council's verdict on the election. This ruling is expected shortly before Christmas.

🎓🇿🇦 President Ramaphosa gives go ahead for full implementation of BELA Bill.

📝 According to the President's statement, the other parties of the GNU - including the liberal DA and conservative FF+ - agreed to the signing of the law. The Solidarity trade union announced that they will go ahead with legal action.

🇿🇦🇺🇸 Biden Extends South Africa's AGOA Membership

Sam Michel, spokesperson for the Office of the United States Trade Representative, announced the Sub-Saharan countries eligible to receive benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act for 2025.

Following the annual eligibility review, South Africa will remain on the list.

https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2024/december/statement-ustr-spokesperson-sam-michel-african-growth-and-opportunity-act-eligibility-review-0

🇲🇿 Riots, Jail Break Kill 248 in Mozambique

At least 248 people have died in Mozambique’s escalating post-election turmoil while the deadly unrest prompted a natural gas producer to restrict shipping to neighboring South Africa and a Tesla Inc. supplier to shut operations.

The death toll jumped this week after a court endorsed the ruling party’s victory in the disputed October election. Meanwhile, more than 1,500 prisoners on Wednesday broke out of a maximum security jail near Maputo, the capital, during which 33 died, police said. By the evening, the authorities said they’d recaptured about 150.

Protests spread across the gas-rich nation after opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane rejected the outcome as fraudulent and called for peaceful protests, but riots broke out that led to mass looting and arson in Maputo and neighboring Matola city.

▫️Sasol, which extracts gas and pipes it to neighboring South Africa to make gasoline, reduced output “to maintain the safety of our people and assets,” it said in a statement Wednesday. The company informed other gas customers that it’s unable to maintain full supply.

▫️South32, which operates the region’s biggest aluminum smelter near the Maputo port, earlier this month said it reduced electricity to its production facilities “to preserve raw materials and maintain operational stability.”

▫️Syrah, which has been sending battery ingredients to Tesla for testing ahead of commercial sales starting next year, declared force majeure at its Balama operation.

🇿🇦 South Africa's Forgotten Air Wars

📎 Australian Military Aviation History