defenceWeb Written by ISSAfrica - 57 A comprehensive response is better than military action, not least because of the difficulties in putting boots on the ground. The five-day terror attack on the coastal town of Palma last month once again stressed the severity of the conflict in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province. In its fourth year, the insurgency shows no signs of dissipating and exposes Mozambique’s lack of political will to address the problem. It also reveals the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) difficulties in crafting a regional response. The bloc’s communiqué after its 8 April meeting in response to the Palma assault said the ‘heinous attacks cannot be allowed to continue without a proportionate regional response.’ The meeting mandated an immediate ‘SADC Organ technical deployment’ to Mozambique.