Africa-Press – Mozambique. The inhabitants of at least five villages in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado have abandoned their homes since Friday due to the circulation of terrorist groups in the vicinity of their communities, local sources told Lusa on Monday.
According to the same sources, the fleeing, which continued on Saturday, took place in the villages of Novo Cabo Delgado, Litandacua and Chitoio, the administrative post of Chai, in the district of Macomia, and in the villages of Mandela and Mapate, in the district of Muidumbe.
“At the moment, my wife is in the Chai administrative post. She fled from Litandacua because the terrorists are wandering around there at will, and she’s ill,” lamented the 77-year-old man, speaking to Lusa from the Macomia district headquarters.
He added that in the fields of the Muagamula community, five kilometres from the Macomia district headquarters, the corpse of a boy was found on Saturday, with signs of violence, while residents suspect that the death was the result of terrorist action.
“So far, the minor’s relatives have not been found,” he added.
The people who fled Novo Cabo Delgado, Litandacua and Chitoio have been taken in by the Rwandan Armed Forces, who have a base in Chai, while they wait for word from the authorities about returning to their communities.
“They are in Chai, including my wife, and the Rwandan Defence Forces are protecting them,” concluded the elderly man.
The people who fled Mandela and Mapate, in Muidumbe, are sheltering in the villages of Muambula, Muatide and Matambale in an area considered safe.
“We fled Mandela and Mapate not because someone died but because it’s not safe for us to continue. There are too many terrorists, and we don’t know where we’re going,” lamented a source from Matambalale.
A member of the Local Force, in one of the positions in Muidumbe, confirmed to Lusa that the population had been displaced and said that work was underway to ascertain the level of security in the abandoned areas.
“We are working with our military colleagues to ascertain the truth and test the level of security in the abandoned sites,” he said.
A Mandela source told Lusa that the returnees were already engaged in production and creating income projects, but the presence of the rebels could jeopardise their crops, particularly sesame.
The province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed insurgency for six years, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.
The insurgency has led to a military response since July 2021 with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts near gas projects, but new waves of attacks have emerged to the south of the region and in neighbouring Nampula province.
The conflict has already displaced a million people, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and caused around 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.
For More News And Analysis About Mozambique Follow Africa-Press
