The United Nations (UN) says the security situation in Palma, Cabo Delgado, remains worrying following the attack on 24 of this month that reportedly led to the deaths of dozens of people.
“The security situation remains volatile and of concern to all of us,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric reported yesterday, 31, in New York.
Dujarric said that in response, several UN agencies are on the ground, with the one dealing with migration having so far recorded about 8,000 arrivals in Nangade, Mueda, Montepuez and Pemba.
Thousands of people arrived in Pemba yesterday, 31, said Dujarric, who noted that just as many are trying to reach safe places on foot, by boat or by road.
“Some people are saved by humanitarian flights by the UN and civil society groups,” he said.
Dujarric said that the UN Population Fund is placing delivery kits and medicines for pregnant women and mothers in some parts of Cabo Delgado.
In addition, the World Food Program has increased aid to reach 50,000 people affected by the attack on Palma.
The UN is guaranteeing an air bridge in the region for the transportation of medicines and other urgent goods.
Security Council?
Asked if it was not time for the Mozambique issue to be taken to the Security Council, given that the attacks are attributed to a group linked to the Islamic State, Dujarric stressed the importance of aid, and recalled that the UN has an envoy who deals with this.
“I think it is important that the international community, at this moment, support Mozambique in the best possible way,” he said.
But earlier, in a joint statement, the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba; the Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten; and the Special Representative for Violence against Children, Najat Maalla M’jid, had “strongly condemned the brutal and horrific acts of violence reported in Cabo Delgado.”
They stressed that “the protection and humanitarian needs of civilians, especially women and children, must be addressed urgently.”
