Mozambique: At least 9,000 return to Mocímboa da Praia – government

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Mozambique: At least 9,000 return to Mocímboa da Praia – government

2:27 CAT | 12 Sep 2022

File photo: VOA Português

At least 9,000 people forced to flee Mocímboa da Praia due to armed rebel attacks in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province have returned to their areas of origin, an official source said on Monday.

“All the villages now have inhabitants,” explained João Saraiva, permanent secretary of Mocímboa da Praia district, cited today by Radio Mozambique.

Mocímboa da Praia was where armed groups carried out their first attack on 5 October 2017, and its main town was long described as the rebels’ “base”.

After more than a year in rebel “hands”, the town was looted, and almost all public and private infrastructure was destroyed, as well as power, water, communications and hospital systems.

A military offensive by government forces in 2021, with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community, allowed the region to recover, and several projects are underway to rebuild infrastructure.

The district’s permanent secretary said the improvement in security conditions in recent months had returned some tranquillity to the inhabitants, who have collaborated with the authorities.

“The populations are collaborating with the government. They are making denunciations and handing over to the authorities explosive devices they find in their homes,” Saraiva added.

Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas but has been terrorised since 2017 by armed violence, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

The insurgency has led to a military response since a year ago by forces from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts near gas projects but leading to a new wave of attacks in other areas, closer to Pemba, the provincial capital, and in Nampula province.

There are about 800,000 internally displaced people due to the conflict, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and about 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

Source: Lusa