Mozambique: Ship with around 1,000 displaced heading for Pemba – Total

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Mozambique: Ship with around 1,000 displaced heading for Pemba – Total

3:04 CAT | 30 Mar 2021

Photo: Lusa

A ship transporting around 1,000 people displaced from Palma who have been seeking help on the Afungi peninsula since Wednesday is expected to dock in Pemba on Tuesday or Wednesday, a source from Total has told Lusa.

The ship is transporting the most vulnerable of those surviving the 24-03 attack on the village of Palma, after further experiencing shortages of food, water and shelter next to the gas project where they sought safety. There were no foreign citizens among those being evacuated, the source said.

The Total source said that, since the attack on Palma, 15 tons of essential food items had been distributed to the displaced population on the Afungi peninsula next to the gas project site, and clinical treatment has been provided in the complex in collaboration with the organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

The wounded have been transported by air to Pemba, including women in labour, adults and children with gunshot wounds among other injuries, another source linked to the operations added. Help had been provided to about 20 people.

The United Nations is maintaining an air bridge with Afungi using small planes, but further information about the ongoing operation is being withheld because armed groups remain active in the Palma area, only half a dozen kilometres from Afungi.

Betinha Ribeiro, who works for Cáritas in Pemba, this Tuesday showed Lusa a room with 1,920 reception kits containing crackers and water for displaced people. Humanitarian organization will deliver different items to those displaced who lacks basic necessities.

Since Sunday, several vessels, private as well as those organized by Total and the authorities, have been transporting people to Pemba. The number evacuated is likely to have exceeded 2,000 already, but these is no official confirmation.

“We still don’t have information on the number of people arriving. The only information we have is that regarding employees” arriving from the gas projects, and state and other firms.

The displaced in Afungi are only part of the thousands on the run. Some have fled in other directions, even reaching the border with Tanzania, 50 kilometres to the north.

A source linked to rescue and security operations told Lusa that there were still some people on the beaches in Palma district awaiting rescue, and that there was no sign of the military controlling the town, despite ongoing operations.

At the same time, light aircraft traffic to and from Pemba airport has grown, with some companies using planes to transport employees who are still working at the Afungi site.

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

The Islamic State terrorist movement on Monday claimed control of the village of Palma, near the border with Tanzania.

Several countries have offered military support in the field to Maputo to fight these insurgents, but, so far, there has not yet been an opening for that, although there are reports and testimonies that point to the existence of security companies and mercenaries in the area.

Source: Lusa