Mozambique: António Guterres and Filipe Nyusi discuss armed violence in Cabo Delgado

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Mozambique: António Guterres and Filipe Nyusi discuss armed violence in Cabo Delgado

2:28 CAT | 15 Jun 2020

File photo: DW

The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Friday discussed the armed violence in Cabo Delgado, which has claimed at least 600 lives since 2017.

“During a telephone conversation, they briefly addressed the situation of the terrorist attacks in the province of Cabo Delgado, where, as a result of the attacks, there is a tendency to register hundreds of displaced people and destruction of infrastructure,” a press release from the Presidency reads.

Cabo Delgado, the province where Africa’s largest private investment for natural gas extraction is advancing, has been under attack by insurgents, classified since the beginning of the year by Mozambican and international authorities as a terrorist threat, since October 2017.

In two-and-a-half years of conflict in the northern Mozambican province, it is estimated that at least 600 people have died, and that about 200,000 have been displaced.

In Friday’s conversation, Guterres and Nyusi discussed the measures that the Mozambican government has taken to assist affected populations, as well as “the important role” of UN agencies, particularly the World Food Program.

In addition to the armed violence in Cabo Delgado, António Guterres and Filipe Nyusi also discussed the peace agreement between the Mozambican government and the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), a process that has made progress in recent days with the delivery of weapons by a total of 38 guerrillas of the main opposition party’s armed wing in the framework of the understandings signed in August 2019.

“Regarding the peace process in Mozambique, the President of the Republic shared the latest developments in the dialogue process, especially the resumption of the Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR) process, which is intended to be swift and effective, with Renamo showing political will to proceed to its end,” the note reads.

According to the document, Guterres and Nyusi also welcomed the “commitment, dedication and professionalism” of Mirko Manzoni, the personal envoy of the UN secretary general and president of the International Contact Group.

“The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepen multilateral cooperation in facing global challenges, with an impact on Mozambique and the world,” the note concludes.

Source: Lusa