A local priest also tells ACN that jihadists have taken to kidnapping children as part of their insurgency.
Almost 50,000 people have been displaced in the most recent round of attacks in the northern region of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, namely at the end of July and in the first week of August, according to United Nations staff on the ground.
“Between 20-28 July, the Diocese of Pemba was particularly impacted by the new wave of brutal attacks, especially the districts of Chiúre, Ancuabe and Muidumbe. Attacks were also very intense on 6-7 August, with incidents recorded in the districts of Palma, Meluco and Quissanga,” reports Sister Aparecida Queiroz from the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
The war in Cabo Delgado is rooted in an insurgency carried out by jihadists linked to the Islamic State. Attacks began in 2017 and government attempts to quell them have borne little fruit. The conflict in Cabo Delgado has caused over 6,000 deaths since October 2017 and has displaced over one million people. According to the UN, one million Mozambicans require emergency assistance just to survive.
Children kidnapped by Islamist militants
In a message sent to ACN, Fr Kwiriwi Fonseca, a Passionist priest serving in the Diocese of Pemba, which covers Cabo Delgado, says that “this senseless war brings only death, and takes what little hope the people, and especially the children, have”.
Claiming that there are reports of children being kidnapped, he says that “these children must be returned to their parents, they must be searched for wherever they are, so that they can be returned to their parents, because they deserve a better future”.
The Passionist priest also expresses his fear that the world will forget the conflict, which has been going on for almost eight years. “The humanitarian crisis caused by this war tends to be forgotten and silenced. This silence bothers us, at a time when thousands upon thousands of our brothers in Cabo Delgado, especially in the region of Chiure, have seen the crisis aggravated by new attacks, their homes burned, their children taken from them.”
Support needed
The Catholic Church is on the frontlines of providing assistance to those who have lost everything as a result of the violence. Fr Kwiriwi Fonseca thanks all the benefactors who, through ACN, continue to support these efforts.
“Please continue to support the people of Cabo Delgado, continue to support those who are struggling for peace. We don’t want war, we want peace. Mozambique needs peace,” the priest concludes.
“I deeply regret that our brothers and sisters in Mozambique are facing yet another wave of attacks. We pray for all the victims,” says Ulrich Kny, ACN’s Head of Projects for Mozambique.
“ACN has been supporting the Diocese of Pemba through several projects, including the provision of psycho-social support to victims of terrorism, material for the construction of dozens of houses and community centres, and the donation of vehicles for missionaries who work with the displaced and, of course, we remain ready to support with further emergency aid,” he concludes.
By Paulo Aido.
