AFRICA/MOZAMBIQUE - New attack on Palma; UNICEF warns of an escalation of the humanitarian situation

Friday, 16 April 2021 jihadists displaced persons refugees childhood

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Maputo (Agenzia Fides) - The city of Palma in northeast Mozambique was attacked again yesterday evening. Just three weeks ago, after a large-scale jihadist attack, dozens were killed and thousands were forced to flee (see Fides, 27/4/2021). According to military sources, there were shootings between soldiers and jihadist fighters. The situation is now under control again.
One element that suggests that the so-called Al-Shabaab militias made a qualitative leap is the fact that while the fighters carried out the attack in Palma, further attacks were carried out at two locations within a 200 km radius. "Mueda, Pundanhar and Palma were attacked almost simultaneously", said a spokesman for the military.
However, the attack on Mueda has not yet been confirmed by other sources.
Meanwhile, the children's aid organization UNICEF warns of an escalation in the humanitarian situation of the people of northern Mozambique and the Mozambicans who have sought refuge in neighboring Tanzania. "Today almost 13% of children under the age of five suffer from acute malnutrition, of which almost 4% are severely affected. And these figures refer only to the areas we have access to", said Manuel Fontaine, Director of Emergency Aid at UNICEF.
There are currently around 700,000 displaced people and there is a risk of a million by June, if the situation does not improve.
The President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, expressed his solidarity with the Mozambican government and the people of the country.
"An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. We stand united. Therefore, we cannot sit back and allow the insurgents to continue their actions without a solid regional response", Mnangagwa said, addressing members of his party. "Last week I attended the South African Development Community (SADC) summit in Mozambique, where the regional leadership decided to immediately send technical missions to restore peace and stability", said the President of Zimbabwe, with a view to planning possible SADC military operations.
The Defense Ministers of Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, who currently form the Troika, will meet on April 28 to prepare an extraordinary meeting on the situation. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 16/4/2021)