The administrator of the Palma district in Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique, João Buchili, said on Tuesday 5 September that security in the district, one of the worst affected by the terrorist attacks, has been fully restored.
“In terms of security, the Palma district is out of danger from terrorists. The Defence and Security Forces are working to put an end to the attacks once and for all,” he said.
According to the leader, people’s lives are returning to normal, and “they are already farming within a radius of around 30 kilometres from the district headquarters, without needing an escort or intervention from the Defence and Security Forces, which was not the case a year ago due to the insecurity caused by the attacks”.
“People are carrying out their machambas in remote areas, without any escort, because security allows it,” he said.
However, he called on the population, especially young people, to be more vigilant and to report any suspicious behaviour.
Cabo Delgado province has been affected by a conflict since 2017 that has terrorised the population. Groups of armed rebels have pillaged and massacred villages and towns all over the province and a variety of attacks have been claimed by the ‘arm’ of the self-proclaimed Islamic State in that region. The conflict has already caused more than 4,000 deaths (data from The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project) and at least one million displaced people, according to an assessment made by the Mozambican authorities.