Mozambique: Portugal monitoring Cabo Delgado situation, committed to resolving “the underlying issue”

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Mozambique: Portugal monitoring Cabo Delgado situation, committed to resolving “the underlying issue”

10:14 CAT | 29 Mar 2021

File photo: Lusa

The prime minister said on Monday that the Portuguese government is permanently monitoring the situation in northern Mozambique and is committed to resolving “the underlying issue,” stressing that he has spoken personally with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.

An airlift is set up between Pemba and Maputo to evacuate from northern Mozambique nearly 1,300 people rescued on Saturday by ship from Palma district, the target of armed attacks on Wednesday

According to the Prime Minister, the Portuguese government is “following the situation with great concern from the very first hour and permanently, through the Ministers of Foreign Affairs [Augusto Santos Silva] and Defence [João Gomes Cravinho].

“As you know, Portugal has been in constant contact with the Mozambican authorities and I myself had the opportunity to speak with President Nyusi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs led the European Union mission that went to Mozambique”.

António Costa then said that the Portuguese government “is working not only on this specific episode, but also to resolve the underlying issue.

The district headquarters town that hosts the gas projects in northern Mozambique was attacked on Wednesday by insurgent groups that have been terrorising the region for three and a half years.

Dozens of civilians, including seven people trying to flee the main hotel in Palma, northern Mozambique, were killed by the armed group that attacked the town on Wednesday.

The violence is causing a humanitarian crisis with almost 700,000 displaced people and more than 2,000 deaths.

Source: Lusa