Paul Nyathi

Southern Africa’s leaders are meeting in the Mozambican capital of Maputo late into Monday evening discussing ways to help fight the Islamist extremist rebels who have killed thousands of people and displaced tens of thousands in Mozambique’s gas-rich north.

The extremist rebels have held the strategic port of Mocimboa da Praia since August and recently they beheaded about 50 people in nearby towns in Cabo Delgado province, according to local reports.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa flew from Harare to meet with the leaders of South Africa and Botswana, at the invitation of Mozambique´s President Filipe Nyusi.

The summit is part of the efforts by the Southern African Development Community, the 16-nation regional body, to determine how to best respond to the extremist threat to Mozambique.