More Than 7,000 Flee Fresh Violence in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado: Nearly 80 Per Cent Are Women and Children
More than 7,000 people have fled their homes in northern Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province since late September, escaping fresh violence and fear of attacks by non-state armed groups, according to new data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), UN News reported on November 3.
Between 21 September and 13 October, 5,794 people were displaced, followed by another 1,235 between 14 and 27 October; some have had to flee more than once. Nearly 80 per cent of the latest arrivals are women and children. Those displaced in the most recent two weeks included 87 pregnant women, 58 older people, 18 people with disabilities and four unaccompanied or separated children. Many men stayed behind to keep earning a living, despite the danger.
“These communities need help with food, shelter and healthcare,” said Dana Graber Ladek, IOM Chief of Mission in Mozambique, noting that many of the displaced are seeking safety in communities that already host people displaced by years of conflict. “Without timely support, life could get much harder for displaced families and the people hosting them.”
Cabo Delgado already hosts more than 205,000 displaced people across 84 sites, and more than half of them are children. Food is the most urgent need, reported by 88 per cent of those assessed, followed by shelter (71 per cent) and healthcare (44 per cent). The UN migration agency is providing emergency shelter, household items, water, sanitation and hygiene, protection and psychosocial support, but warned that continued displacement and falling funding are stretching the response just as needs grow.
(Source: UN News)
Source: UN News
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：莫桑比克德尔加杜角省省会 Pemba 街景。美国之音（VOA）摄，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: A street scene in Pemba, capital of Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique. Photo by Voice of America, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
