Mozambique: At least 10 teachers killed in terror attacks since 2017 in north

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Mozambique: At least 10 teachers killed in terror attacks since 2017 in north

7:51 CAT | 15 Oct 2025

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

At least 10 teachers have been killed in eight years of armed insurgency in Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique, according to an estimate presented by the National Teachers’ Organisation (ONP) on Tuesday.

“The statistics confirm that ten teachers have been killed by insurgency in the period in question,” Teodoro Muidumbe, secretary general of the ONP, the trade union organisation that represents teachers in the country, told Lusa.

The province of Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique, which is rich in gas, has been the target of terrorist attacks for eight years, with the first attack recorded on 5 October 2017, in the district of Mocímboa da Praia.

During the reception for National Teachers’ Day on Monday, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo paid “special” tribute to the teachers and education professionals, particularly in that province, who, even in “adverse” situations imposed by the terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado, illnesses and extreme weather phenomena, “always find alternatives to ensure that the teaching-learning process does not stop”.

In September, the National Association of Teachers of Mozambique (Anapro) repudiated the “barbaric and unacceptable” acts of alleged rebel attacks in Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country, with the confirmation of the death of a member of the teaching profession.

“We repeatedly repudiate the barbaric and unacceptable acts that attack human dignity and are against a fundamental right to life,” Anapro said in a statement.

Mentioning an attack that took place in Mocímboa da Praia, in which four people were killed, the association said that there are “confirmed reports” of a teacher killed on the spot, “in the service of the homeland, through education”.

Almost 40,000 people have fled six districts of Cabo Delgado, as well as the neighbouring province of Nampula, due to the upsurge in terrorist attacks in northern Mozambique, according to the latest report from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

According to the UN agency’s most recent field report, between 22 September and 6 October, the escalation of attacks and the insecurity caused by armed groups” led to “new displacements” – a total of 39,643, equivalent to 12,335 families – essentially in the districts of Balama, Mocímboa da Praia, Montepuez and Chiúre, Cabo Delgado, but also in Memba, Nampula province.

The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) has counted 6,257 deaths after eight years of terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado, warning of the current instability, with an upsurge in violence.

Source: Lusa