Mozambique: Close to 3,000 people have fled their homes in Muidumbe district

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Mozambique: Close to 3,000 people have fled their homes in Muidumbe district

3:24 CAT | 25 Nov 2022

Almost 3,000 people have fled their homes in Muidumbe district, Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, as a result of armed attacks last week, according to the latest report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Most flee to other villages in the same district or move to the neighbouring district of Mueda, according to information gleaned between November 16 and 22 (Tuesday) by the displacement matrix and IOM emergency screening.

On Thursday, Namacule residents found four bodies under a banana tree next to sugar cane fields, a local source told Lusa today. No one recognized the bodies, it being suspected that they are members of terrorist groups killed during clashes, the source added.

Muidumbe aside, insecurity has in the last week displaced almost 1,300 people in Macomia and 700 in Namuno, in the southwest corner of the province. Most escape on foot, and half of those displaced are minors, adds the IOM.

The province of Cabo Delgado has been plagued since 2017 by the actions of armed groups described by the authorities and external entities as terrorists.

The insurgency led to a military response a year ago with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), freeing districts next to natural gas projects in the province, but new waves of violence emerged in the south of the region and in neighbouring Nampula.

In five years, the conflict has displaced one million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and killed around 4,000, according to the ACLED conflict registry project.

Source: Lusa