FIGHTING DISPLACES OVER 500,000 IN NORTHERN MOZAMBIQUE

Tue 22 December 2020:

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is deeply concerned over the rising number of civilians displaced in the northern parts of Mozambique as attacks by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) continue to rage in Cabo Delgado province.

“The situation in Cabo Delgado is a protection crisis for more than half a million civilians on the run, with widespread reports of human rights abuses and disregard for international humanitarian law”, UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch said.

Access to some areas in the province remains limited due to violence, insecurity and the rainy season, with communities being cut off from basic services for months, he added.

More than 2,000 people have been killed since the conflict started in 2017. In the violence houses have been looted and burned, families separated and health centres and schools seriously damaged.

The affected provinces were already suffering high levels hunger and malnutrition. However, the situation has deteriorated rapidly, with over 900,000 people now facing crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity.

“There is serious indication that this crisis could spread beyond the country’s borders”, warned Mr. Baloch.

While over 90% of the IDPs are living with host families, insecurity in November “remained prevalent in some districts of Cabo Delgado province, with some population movement triggered by insecurity and restricted access to northern districts,” said UNICEF.

“According to ACLED, during November 2020, over 201 violence events occurred and about 872 fatalities from these events were reported,” UNICEF said in its report, referring to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a real-time data collection, analysis and crisis mapping project.

Due to the situation, UNICEF on Nov. 28 declared a Level 2 emergency for the Cabo Delgado crisis which affected Cabo Delgado as well as neighboring provinces, it said in the report.

“With the level 2 designation, the crisis receives prioritized corporate-wide support for the scale-up of [an] emergency response,” it added.

UN launches $250 million appeal

Amid growing needs, the UN and humanitarian partners in Mozambique launched, on Friday, an appeal for $254 million to provide vital assistance and protection to 1.1 million in the affected regions in 2021.

JUST OUT:

The @UN & partners today launched an appeal for $254 million to provide urgently needed assistance and protection to over 1 million people affected by violence, conflict and insecurity in Cabo Delgado and neighbouring provinces of Mozambique.https://t.co/xdOOotjRf8 pic.twitter.com/mUFmZqrlvf

— OCHA Southern & Eastern Africa (@UNOCHA_ROSEA) December 18, 2020

Myrta Kaulard, Humanitarian Coordinator for Mozambique, said that with needs rapidly rising, humanitarian actors urgently require more funding to scale-up their response across the northern provinces of the country.

“We count on the support of the international community to provide timely funding to ensure that people fleeing violence can access much-needed relief”, she added.