Mozambique: People still in panic after terrorist raids in Memba – AIM report

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Mozambique: People still in panic after terrorist raids in Memba – AIM report

3:31 CAT | 14 Oct 2025

Photo: O País

Manuel Cintura, the administrator of Memba district, in the northern Mozambican province of Nampula, has declared that, although residents are still in panic after the terrorist raids of 30 September and 3 October, “some people are timidly returning to their areas of origin.”

According to Cintura, the terrorist raids against the Lurio and Chipene administrative posts resulted in the destruction of 51 houses, a church and a primary school.

“The situation remains turbulent, but the population is timidly returning to their areas of origin. We had destruction, many homes were burned, a church was destroyed, and a school was destroyed. Although some of the population are returning to their areas of origin, many residents continue to avoid sleeping in their own homes for fear of further attacks”, he said.

The administrator also revealed that there are citizens from Memba “among the armed groups that have carried out attacks, considering the local population’s historical ties to fishing communities in areas previously occupied by insurgents in the neighboring province of Cabo Delgado.”

READ: Mozambique: At least 51 homes, a church and a school destroyed in Memba district since late September – official

Since 2017, the terrorists’ incursions have usually been recorded in Cabo Delgado. However, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned that the violence is tending to spread to other regions, especially in Nampula.

Over the last two weeks, according to IOM, 40,000 people were forced to flee their homes in Cabo Delgado and Nampula as result of jihadist raids.

In a statement, the European Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) said that the violence and attacks recorded since late September in Memba district have included kidnappings and attacks on civilian and public infrastructure.

“The attacks in Nampula are worrying, as they mark a spillover of the conflict from Cabo Delgado for the first time in months and demonstrate the increased capacity of non-state armed groups to carry out simultaneous and less predictable attacks”, reads the document.

“The United Nations reports that, for the first time, all 17 districts of Cabo Delgado have been affected by conflict, displacing 1.3 million people, many repeatedly, since the beginning of the conflict”, adds the note.

Source: AIM