The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that the past month of May saw the sharpest rise in armed violence in the Northern region, mainly in the province of Cabo Delgado—a situation not seen since June 2022—affecting more than 134,000 people across 61 security incidents.
According to a report, the agency clarified that the reported incidents included 38 attacks on civilians. “Confirmed victims include ten murders, some beheadings, and at least 45 kidnappings, mostly of children.”
OCHA notes that the sharp increase in violence in May was concentrated mainly in the districts of Mocímboa da Praia, Muidumbe, Macomia, Ancuabe, Montepuez, and Palma, and spread to Mecula in Niassa province, where about two thousand people fled their villages. “The increased use of improvised explosive devices further endangered civilians, with three such incidents recorded during the month under review.” The international agency also reported that insecurity “disrupted essential services, forcing mobile health teams to suspend operations and schools to close in the districts of Ancuabe, Montepuez, and Nangade.”
While attacks by armed groups rise in Cabo Delgado, the UN agency also warns that tensions between internally displaced persons and host communities have worsened. “In Muidumbe, local leaders, following orders from local authorities, denied registration to 1,242 newly arrived internally displaced persons — including 472 children — while the Local Force militia was instructed to forcibly repel displaced populations. Community frustration aggravated operational challenges.” The report also describes how increased social tensions, stemming from public dissatisfaction with aid distribution, led to looting of supplies and humanitarian trucks in Chiúre and Mocímboa da Praia. “On May 29, an international organization suspended food distribution in Macomia, relocating two staff members to Pemba due to increased threats.”
Since October 2017, Cabo Delgado—a province rich in natural gas—has faced an armed rebellion that has caused thousands of deaths and generated a humanitarian crisis, resulting in over one million internally displaced persons.
In 2024 alone, at least 349 people died in attacks carried out by Islamic extremist groups in the province, representing a 36% increase compared to the previous year, according to data recently released by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS), an academic institution of the U.S. Department of Defense specializing in conflict analysis in Africa.
In April of this year, attacks also spread to the neighboring province of Niassa. One of the most serious incidents occurred in the Niassa Reserve and the Mariri Environmental Center, in the Mecula district, where non-state armed groups attacked facilities, stole goods, destroyed camps, and damaged a park aircraft. These acts resulted in at least two deaths and displaced more than two thousand individuals, 55% of whom are children.
Source: Diário Económico
