Mozambique conflict increased in November – UN Report

MAPUTO, Mozambique

The armed conflict in northern Mozambique, worsened in November, leading to “the highest number of attacks recorded since July 2021,” according to a United Nations report released this Monday [January 10]: “Mozambique: Cabo Delgado, Nampula & Niassa Humanitarian Snapshot – November 2021 “.

“In November, conflict increased in northern Mozambique—with the highest number of attacks recorded since July 2021—and displaced more than 20,500 people, of whom 51 per cent were children, 28 per cent women, and 4 per cent people with vulnerabilities,” according to IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM).

In total, there are an estimated 734,000 internally displaced people in northern Mozambique (figures consolidated up to five weeks ago), a decrease of about 9,000 from the data collected in September.

“With the start of the lean season,” until harvests kick off in April, “it is estimated that over 1.1 million people in Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa face high levels of food insecurity,” the document adds.

According to the United Nations, only one in 10 displaced families in Cabo Delgado has an adequate diet.

Malaria, febrile syndrome and diarrhoea remain the major diseases in Cabo Delgado, with almost 741,700 cases, 154,000 and over 40,100, respectively.

Among the displaced, 90% point to lack of shelter as the most urgent need, followed by food (88%), non-food items (70%), clean water and sanitation (60%) and health (41%).