According to an operational report from the UN agency, consulted on Tuesday by Lusa, recent attacks by “non-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 [districts of Cabo Delgado], which have recorded around 15,000 and 5,000 new displacements, respectively,” it said.
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 displaced more than one million people.
In addition to Cabo Delgado, the neighbouring province of Niassa was also the scene of an attack by members of these groups in April, who beheaded two forest rangers, while Islamic State claimed responsibility for the deaths of three people in an attack in the same area.
The UNHCR reports that more than 25,000 people have been displaced “in a matter of weeks” by new attacks by armed groups in the north of the country.
“In Niassa province, where until recently displacement was limited, more than 2,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since mid-March. They join the nearly 1.3 million people who have been displaced by armed conflict, consecutive cyclones and drought,” it explains.
However, the UN agency acknowledged that despite the challenges associated with terrorism, the political environment in Mozambique remains “calm”, with attention now turned to “long-term development planning”.
The UNHCR warning comes after the UN estimated this week that nearly 5.2 million people are in need of assistance due to the ‘triple crisis’ in Mozambique, the result of “armed conflict, recurring extreme weather events and months of post-election unrest”.
The UNHCR’s leader 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 destruction of infrastructure, also hampering recovery efforts.
In 2024 alone, at least 349 people were killed in attacks by Islamic extremist groups in the province, an increase of 36% over the previous year, according to data recently released by the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies, an academic institution of the US Department of Defense that analyses conflicts in Africa.
Platform with Lusa
