Mozambique: Number of people displaced by rebel attacks up 7% in 3 months

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Mozambique: Number of people displaced by rebel attacks up 7% in 3 months

11:54 CAT | 28 Mar 2022

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

The number of people in Mozambique who have been internally displaced due to the war in Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country, rose by 7% in the three months to February, 784,000 people, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in its latest report on the conflict.

In a survey carried out in January and February there were 49,100 more people recorded than in the previous one, concluded in November, according to the document consulted on Monday by Lusa.

Among the causes for the increase in the number of internally displaced persons are attacks by armed rebels in the areas of Nangade, Meluco, Macomia and in the Quirimbas archipelago.

The figure also includes people displaced as a results of attacks in Niassa province in December.

Most families fleeing the war are living in host communities, while about one quarter are in special camps.

The capital of Cabo Delgado province, Pemba, is the district hosting the most internally displaced people (152,000), followed by Metuge (124,000), an adjacent area across the bay. At the other end of Cabo Delgado, the biggest destination is Mueda (85,000 internally displaced) in the north, close to the border with Tanzania.

Children continue to account for around half of the displaced population, and food and shelter are the main needs, the IOM adds.

Cabo Delgado is rich in natural gas but since 2017 has been terrorised by armed rebels, with responsibility for some of the attacks claimed by the local affiliate of Islamic State.

The conflict has claimed around 4,000 lives, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

Since July 2021, an offensive by government troops with the support of forces from Rwanda, later joined by more forces from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), has made it possible to recover control of areas where there had been a rebel presence. However, the rebels’ flight has resulted in new attacks in other districts that they used as passage or temporary refuge.

Source: Lusa