Mocímboa da Praia “is standing” and residents’ return is expected soon – Mayor

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Mocímboa da Praia “is standing” and residents’ return is expected soon – Mayor

10:03 CAT | 22 Nov 2021

FILE PHOTO - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: DW]

The mayor of Mocímboa de Praia said on Friday that the reconstruction of the town, which was occupied by rebels for over a year, is going well, and its displaced population is expected to start returning soon.

“Mocimboa da Praia is still standing, and we have faith that in a short time the population will start to return,” mayor Cheia Carlos Momba told Lusa on the sidelines of the 2nd “Growing Blue Conference” which took in Vilanculos, southern Mozambique.

In total, around 62,000 people – almost all the town’s population – left the coastal town over the past four years, many during mass escapes after the intensification of rebel actions in June, 2020.

In the more than a year in the hands of rebels, Mocímboa da Praia, one of the few urban areas in Cabo Delgado province, was sacked, and almost all public and private infrastructure was destroyed, as well as the energy, water and communications systems and hospitals.

Read: Cautious residents return to Mozambique’s Mocimboa da Praia – Watch

With the support of forces from Rwanda and, later, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), an offensive by government troops gained momentum in July this year, allowing for increased security and the recovery if several areas.

“The water and energy systems have already been restored, but some infrastructure is still destroyed. The government is making every effort to restore facilities; we want to ensure that the population returns to acceptable conditions,” declared Cheia Carlos Momba, who is now living in Mocímboa again, after almost a year managing the town from Pemba, the provincial capital more than 340 kilometres to the south.

It was from the coastal town that armed groups staged their first attack in October 2017, long being described as the “base” of the rebels.

Read: Capture of Mocimboa da Praia only “the first stage” – Watch

Mocímboa da Praia is located 70 kilometres south of the construction area of the natural gas project in Afungi, Palma, a project carried out by a consortium of international oil companies led by TotalEnergies.

Reportagem da TVM mostrando o quao Mocimboa da Praia esta uma cidade-fantasma https://t.co/gzcs95xdvB. O reporter Brito Simango diz ser ‘assustador’. #CaboDelgado pic.twitter.com/VXlVhZ4QCG

— Alexandre (@AllexandreMZ) August 11, 2021