Mozambique: PM tells parliament life returning to normal in Cabo Delgado

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Mozambique: PM tells parliament life returning to normal in Cabo Delgado

4:04 CAT | 16 Nov 2022

Image: Notícias

Mozambique’s prime minister, Adriano Maleiane, said in parliament on Wednesday that life is returning to normality in the districts affected by armed attacks in the province of Cabo Delgado, despite new waves of violence.

“Concerning actions to combat terrorism, the Defence and Security Forces, in coordination with the SADC [Southern African Development Community] and Rwandan forces, are registering progress that is allowing the population to return to their areas of origin, as well as the gradual normalisation of life in the affected areas,” Maleiane said.

He was speaking in parliament during the opening speech of the session of questions to the government on the fight against terrorism in the country.

Maleiane told the house that 1,569 state employees returned to work, allowing the re-establishment of public administration services in several districts.

He said that medium-voltage power lines had been repaired in substations destroyed by the insurgents, and electricity supplies had been partially re-established in the six districts worst hit by the armed violence.

The prime minister also pointed to the replacement of bridges and roads, as well as the distribution of equipment for agricultural production, as proof that security had been restored in the areas previously plagued by armed groups.

Despite the liberation of the gas projects area, Maleiane did not mention new waves of attacks in the south of the province and Nampula since June, causing several deaths, new waves of displaced people and interruptions in the operation of graphite and ruby mines.

Village invasions have also been prevalent in the districts of Macomia and Muidumbe.

Cabo Delgado province has been the scene of an armed insurgency since 2017, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

The violence has led to a military response since a year ago with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the conflict has made one million displaced people and around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

Source: Lusa