CABO DELGADO CRISIS DEEPENS AS THOUSANDS FLEE RENEWED ATTACKS

Wed 06 August 2025:

A fresh wave of violence in Mozambique’s northern province displaces over 46 000.

A severe escalation of violence in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province has triggered a mass exodus, with tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes in late July following a series of attacks by armed groups.

The renewed insurgency has deepened an already critical humanitarian crisis, overwhelming aid agencies and leaving a trail of displacement and fear.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), attacks between 20 and 28 July displaced at least 46 667 people across the districts of Chiúre, Ancuabe, and Muidumbe. The district of Chiúre was the most severely affected, accounting for over 42 000 of the displaced individuals, more than half of whom are children. This brings the total number of people who have fled insecurity in the region since January to over 95 000.

The violence has forced families to abandon their homes and agricultural fields, often trekking through forests to find safety. Reports from the ground paint a grim picture of torched homes, school and clinic closures and a rising number of unaccompanied or separated children.

The Cabo Delgado crisis has created an urgent need for food, shelter and other essential items for those who have been uprooted.

__________________________________________________________________________

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

__________________________________________________________________________

The shifting nature of the insurgency

The recent surge in violence marks a significant shift in the conflict, which has plagued the resource-rich province since 2017. Moulana Mussagy A. Rahman, a board member of the Mozambique Islamic Council, noted that the situation has been escalating over the last three months.

“Reports have been coming of this some movements from this insurgence from the Palma region to other areas in inland to Angkwabe then to Shiguri,” he stated in an interview with Salaamedia.

Rahman explained that while the conflict initially appeared to be an internal resistance linked to land rights and the exploitation of natural gas resources, its nature has evolved.

“When time moves and we start seeing now military gear, people with arms, guns and equipment, then we start suspecting that this is not the population from the local areas,” he said.

The identity of the attackers remains ambiguous. While the narrative has shifted to include labels like “Al-Shabaab” and “Islamic State,” Rahman expressed caution.

“These are names which we know these are easy names to bring into this kind of problems in any conflict but the reality is that these people are armed and they have machine guns and they have equipment, no military gear.” The ongoing Cabo Delgado crisis highlights the difficulty in definitively identifying the perpetrators.

The attacks have become intensely personal for those in the region. Rahman shared a harrowing account, stating, “Two days ago yesterday morning we received a notice information of one of our delegates in Cabo Delgado has lost his family. Three people were attacked in the village belonging to his family.”

Humanitarian efforts are severely strained. The UN reports that its 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan for Mozambique is critically underfunded, having received only 19% of the required $352 million as of July. This funding shortfall has forced aid agencies to drastically scale back their operations, reducing their assistance target from 1.1 million people to just 317 000. The international community’s response is struggling to keep pace with the escalating needs of the Cabo Delgado crisis, leaving thousands vulnerable.

The violence, which had been partially contained by regional forces from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Rwanda, appears to be resurging with a new geographic focus, moving inland from the coastal Palma region.

This development underscores the persistent instability and the complex, multifaceted challenges facing Mozambique and its international partners in restoring peace and security to the region.