Mozambique: Displaced returning to ‘safety’ in reconquered areas – PM

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Mozambique: Displaced returning to ‘safety’ in reconquered areas – PM

1:35 CAT | 10 Mar 2022

Photo: O País

Mozambique’s new prime minister, Adriano Maleiane, said on Wednesday that displaced people from the war in Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country, are returning safely to areas affected by armed violence as a result of the fight against “terrorism”.

“The ongoing actions fall within the framework of the Reconstruction Plan of Cabo Delgado and are allowing the gradual normalisation of life in the affected areas and the safe return of the displaced,” Maleiane said.

The prime minister was speaking in Parliament, in the government’s information session to questions from parliamentary benches, in his first intervention in this legislative body since he was sworn into office last week.

“Concerning fighting terrorism in the north of Cabo Delgado province, we have been making remarkable progress thanks to the commitment, bravery and spirit of sacrifice of the Defence and Security Forces, in coordination with the forces of the SADC [Southern African Development Community] and Rwanda,” Maleiane said.

With the improvement in the security situation, he continued, the leaders of local state bodies and civil servants are returning to their posts and are committed to providing public services to the population there.

The officials who have returned to the areas previously affected by armed attacks are also involved in actions to welcome displaced persons returning to where they came from, he added.

“The government has been developing several actions, mainly humanitarian assistance, re-establishment of basic services and reconstruction of infrastructures destroyed by the terrorists,” Maleiane stressed.

On the other hand, humanitarian assistance remains a priority and the re-establishment of essential services and reconstruction of infrastructures “destroyed by the terrorists”, he stressed.

“The population of the districts in the northern part of Cabo Delgado is already benefiting again from power supply services, water supply, as well as from the mobile telephone network,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that as part of the recovery and boost of productive activities, agricultural and fishing kits were distributed to the families affected by the violence, aiming at their subsistence and income generation.

He said that the government had launched a credit line to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly small businesses of the affected population, to revitalise economic and commercial activity.

The prime minister noted that the payment of a basic social subsidy to families displaced or returned to their areas of origin had been restarted, and civil registration and identity card issuing campaigns were underway for the affected population.

The province of Cabo Delgado is rich in natural gas, but, terrorised since 2017, by armed rebels, with some attacks being claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

The conflict has led to more than 3,100 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and more than 859,000 displaced people, according to Mozambican authorities.

Since July, an offensive by government troops with support from Rwanda, later joined by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), allowed for an increase in security, recovering several areas where there was a rebel presence, but the rebels’ flight has led to new attacks in some districts used as transit or temporary refuge.

Source: Lusa