Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambican Prime Minister Adriano Maleiane admitted on Thursday that the government does not have enough money to respond to the humanitarian crisis involving victims of Islamist terrorism in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
Speaking to reporters after the opening ceremony of a sitting of the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic (AR), the Prime minister lamented the increase in attacks and the displacement of the population of certain districts of Cabo Delgado.
“The resources are never enough, we are prepared for the rainy season, but now this situation needs additional support”, he said.
According to Maleiane, this crisis is causing hunger and a lack of basic necessities and, for this reason, the government promises to take the matter to the next full meeting of the Council of Ministers (Cabinet) scheduled for next Tuesday.
“Fighting terrorism is not easy, but our forces must continue to work. It’s unfortunate, because there’s a whole population that’s moving from one place to another, which is creating food problems and so we have to find solutions”, the Prime Minister said.
In order to minimize the situation, Maleiane calls for a spirit of solidarity with the victims of terrorism, while the government seeks solutions with its partners.
Lately, the terrorists have been intensifying their attacks in certain districts of Cabo Delgado, causing the death and displacement of local populations, burning public and private buildings, as well as extorting money from drivers using the main roads of the province.
The deterioration of the security situation in Cabo Delgado this month seems to have taken the government by surprise. The terrorists have moved southwards, into Chiure district and towards the neighbouring province of Nampula.
They are making use of the rainy season; torrential rains are causing flooding and make many roads impassable for vehicles. Rain and cloud also make flying difficult and so there are few helicopters in operation.
The terrorist push into Chiure has led frightened villagers to pour into the district capital, Chiure town. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported that by 16 February, 2,046 displaced people had reached the town.
Others are fleeing towards the provincial capital, Pemba, or southwards, across the Lurio river into Nampula. The Nampula provincial government has opened a reception centre for displaced people in Erati district. By Wednesday morning, according to the Erati district administrator, Manuel Manussa, 13,640 people crossing from Chiure had been registered. However, the flow of people across the Lurio seemed to have stopped on Thursday.
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