Mozambique: Victims of terrorist raid call for urgent food aid – AIM

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Mozambique: Victims of terrorist raid call for urgent food aid – AIM

7:40 CAT | 21 Oct 2025

Photo: AIM

Eduardo Abdula, governor of the northern Mozambican province of Nampula, calls for urgent food aid for the population living in the administrative posts of Lúrio and Chipene, Memba district, following the terrorist raid on 30 September and 3 October.

According to the governor, speaking to reporters after visiting the regions attacked by terrorists, the humanitarian situation is serious as people lost their houses and foodstuffs during the terrorist’s incursion.

He also revealed that the terrorists beheaded a 29-year-old man in the same manner in addition to setting fire to houses.”

“Someone was beheaded, whose relatives are here. There have been some ambushes by terrorists, but our forces responded quickly and managed to drive them away”, he said.

“We need to reinforce security further, but communities also need to contribute to surveillance and reporting strange movements”, he added.

Since 2017, the terrorists’ incursions have usually been recorded in Cabo Delgado. However, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned that the violence is tending to spread to other regions, especially in the neighboring province of Nampula.

According to a local source, many people who returned to their homes are facing hunger as their foodstuffs, which had been stored in granaries, were burned by the terrorists.

“The insurgents burned much of the agricultural products and looted the rest. We are in a bad way, we have no food, and the bandits took everything. Children are going hungry”, a source said.

The victims also report an urgent need for shelter, as many of their houses were completely destroyed by fire.

Islamic State propaganda outlets claimed responsibility for several attacks in villages in Memba district, including the burning of churches and food supplies belonging to the allegedly Christian population.

In recent weeks, according to the IOM, 40,000 people were forced to flee their homes in Cabo Delgado and Nampula as result of jihadist raids.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), since 2017, violent extremist attacks in Cabo Delgado have killed at least 4,500 people and displaced over one million. Approximately 4,965 small businesses have been destroyed, leaving communities without livelihoods.

Youth unemployment currently stands at 25% in the province, with 35% of young women neither employed nor enrolled in education or training.

Source: AIM