Mozambique: Portugal expects displaced residents to return to Palma, Moçimboa by year’s end

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Mozambique: Portugal expects displaced residents to return to Palma, Moçimboa by year’s end

7:06 CAT | 21 Jul 2021

File photo: VOA Portugues

Portugal’s minister of defence told Lusa on Wednesday that he hopes that residents of Palma and Moçímboa da Praia, in northern Mozambique, which have been targeted by terrorist attacks, can return to their homes by the end of the year.

“I believe that, whether through the support of forces trained through Portuguese cooperation, or through the support of Rwanda, it will soon be possible to dislodge the terrorist groups from their bases including in Palma and Moçímboa da Praia, which are important towns that need to be retaken, and I believe that this will happen in the coming months,” João Gomes Cravinho told Lusa at the end of his hearing before the parliamentary committee on defence.

At the commission, the minister stressed the importance of Portuguese aid and the mission being prepared by the European Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to restore peace in northern Mozambique.

Armed groups have terrorised Cabo Delgado province since 2017, with some attacks claimed by the Islamic State group. There are more than 2,800 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and 732,000 displaced people, according to the United Nations.

Source: Lusa