Insurgents displace tens of thousands from northern Mozambique

As attacks escalate in northern Mozambique, the UN warns of a worsening humanitarian disaster that could give a boon to the region’s extremists.

Between July 20 and 28, violence by armed insurgents emptied villages and displaced more than 46,667 people across the Mozambique districts of Chiúre, Ancuabe, and Muidumbe, reports Africa News on August 4.

Aid groups are now scrambling to reach camps that are already stretched beyond their limits.

“The pace of displacement is overwhelming,” a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. “In just one week, the number of displaced families nearly tripled. Most of them are children. Many are alone.”

The violence is the latest consequence of the South African nation’s grinding fight against a jihadist insurgency that erupted in 2017. The militants, aligned with the Islamic state, have terrorized the resource-rich north ever since, torching villages, beheading civilians, and enlisting child soldiers.

Mozambique’s military, despite years of effort and support from regional allies including Rwanda and South Africa, has struggled to contain the insurgency.

Humanitarian works are now saying the threat is entering a new phase.

Since January 2025 alone, more than 95,000 people have fled their homes in Cabo Delgado. The UN estimates the total number displaced by the conflict now exceeds 600,000.

Among them are hundreds of children separated from their families, many of whom are feared to have been abducted or conscripted.

The lack of funding only exacerbates the crisis. Dwindling supplies and overcrowded shelters have left many “malnourished” and “traumatized.”

Without immediate intervention, aid workers warn that the crisis will spiral, not only in Mozambique, but in several other African nations plagued by terrorist threats.

They warn that worsening conditions will entrench extremism, prolonging the crisis.

Africa News/ AP/ Maghrebi