Mozambique: Third-largest party wants state of war declaration for Cabo Delgado – report

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Mozambique: Third-largest party wants state of war declaration for Cabo Delgado – report

1:20 CAT | 09 Mar 2020

File photo: Lusa

The president of Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), Mozambique’s third-largest political party, said over the weekend that the government should declare a state of war in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, in order to mobilise aid against armed groups in the region.

“It is important for the government to declare war in Cabo Delgado, so that the population receives humanitarian aid and the international community helps Mozambique to fight evildoers,” MDM leader Daviz Simango is quoted today by the daily newspaper ‘O País’ as saying.

According to Daviz Simango, the population of the districts affected by the action of armed groups in Cabo Delgado are confined to district headquarters villages and are vulnerable to diseases such as cholera and to hunger.

“There are records of more than 500 dead and 160,000 displaced people due to lack of security in their areas of origin,” the MDM president said.

Cabo Delgado province has been the target of attacks by armed groups that international organisations classify as a terrorist threat, and which have, in the last two and a half years, killed at least 350 people, as well as subjecting 156,400 people to loss of property or forced abandonment of their homes and agricultural enterprises.

Source: Lusa