Mozambique: Security situation in north ‘continues to deteriorate’ – UNHCR

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Mozambique: Security situation in north ‘continues to deteriorate’ – UNHCR

4:04 CAT | 27 May 2025

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

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has warned that the security situation in northern Mozambique “continues to deteriorate”, with attacks by armed groups in areas considered stable, mainly in the province of Cabo Delgado.

According to an operational report from that United Nations (UN) agency, consulted today by Lusa, the recent attacks by “nNon-State Armed Groups” in the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Niassa, in northern Mozambique, have displaced thousands of people and disrupted humanitarian access.

“In northern Mozambique, the security situation continues to deteriorate, (…)The renewed intensity of the conflict is now affecting areas previously considered relatively stable, including Ancuabe and Montepuez [in Cabo Delgado province] , which have seen around 15,000 and 5,000 new displacements, respectively”, it says.

Since October 2017, the gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed rebellion with attacks claimed by movements associated with the extremist group Islamic State, which have led to the displacement of more than a million people.

In addition to Cabo Delgado, the neighbouring province of Niassa was also the scene of an attack in April by members of these groups, who beheaded two forest rangers, while the Islamic State claimed the death of three people in an attack in the same area.

The UNHCR reports that “over 25,000 people have been newly displaced in a matter of weeks” by new attacks by armed groups in the north of the country.

” In Niassa Province, where displacement had until recently been limited, more than 2,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since mid-March. They join the close to 1.3 million people who the armed conflict, back-to-back cyclones and drought have uprooted,” it explains.

However, the UN agency acknowledged that, despite the challenges associated with terrorism, the political environment in Mozambique remains “calm”, with attention now turning to longterm development planning”.

The UNHCR’s warning comes after the UN estimated this week that almost 5.2 million people are in need of assistance due to the “triple crisis” in Mozambique, resulting from “armed conflict, recurrent extreme weather events and months of post-election unrest”.

READ: Mozambique: “Triple crisis” leaves 5.2 million in need of humanitarian assistance – UN

UNHCR’s coordinator and deputy director for West and Central Africa stressed that the situation is particularly serious in Cabo Delgado province.

Xavier Creach said that the activity of non-state armed groups has increased displacement and the destruction of infrastructure, also hampering recovery efforts.

In 2024 alone, at least 349 people died in attacks by Islamic extremist groups in the province, an increase of 36% compared to the previous year, according to data recently released by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, an academic institution of the US Department of Defense that analyses conflicts in Africa.

Source: Lusa