Johannesburg - The portfolio committee on international relations and cooperation said it was concerned about the security situation in neighbouring Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province and its impact on the southern Africa region.
Recurrent violence by suspected Islamist insurgents has plagued communities in resource-rich Cabo Delgado since 2017, but it has escalated in frequency and intensity in 2020.
Earlier this week, the International Committee of the Red Cross said attacks on towns and villages in the province had intensified, forcing thousands of people to flee by foot, boat or road to the provincial capital Pemba.
In a statement late on Thursday after a briefing on the situation from South Africa's international relations department, the parliament committee's chairwoman Tandi Mahambehlala said the conflict "has brought home a reality that we are not immune from conflict in our neighbourhood and across the region”.
"We wanted the department to explain what the implications of this conflict would be in our neighbourhood and region; and most importantly, how our diplomacy is utilised to mitigate the escalation of the conflict before it spreads all over the region,” Mahambehlala said.
She said the department highlighted the sensitive nature of the conflict and that South Africa, as member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), was prepared to work closely with the regional body in response to the conflict.
The SADC approach was that Mozambique should draw a roadmap, detailing the type of assistance it would require from the organisation, and that all members would accordingly see where and how they could help, said Mahambehlala.
The committee stressed the importance of acting within the collective of SADC, and for South Africa to move in unison with the region and the continent in addressing the Mozambican crisis.
"The conflict (has) brought about insecurity in the region, which has thus far been considered as a beacon of peace and stability in the continent," Mahambehlala said.