Deaths, attacks and fear have left a Mozambican village empty

Mmala, a Mozambican village in Cabo Delgado, was home to more than 11,000 people, but two terrorist attacks in recent days have sent the population fleeing with children in their arms, carrying on their heads what little escaped destruction.

“First they went through and killed two people, they went around the village, a day passed, the next day they went through again, killed six people and burned the ward of the hospital and the school,” says Luce Lourenço Ancuara, the village head. .

In view of this, the decision was to flee in haste, namely to the city of Cure, which today is the last bastion of safety nearby. After all, a three-day journey on foot through agricultural fields and roads, with thousands of people moving at the same time.

Mmala is located in the administrative post of Cure Velho, the worst hit by terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado province in recent days, and is 50 kilometers from Pemba, the provincial capital, a journey of more than three hours. by car, on the road under the constant threat of new attacks.

Lourenço Ancuara, who has just arrived in the town of Curé, says that the village is empty: “Nobody, we all left there (…) I have 11,014 inhabitants there. And there is no one, they left. Nobody brought anything, we remained the same.”

They arrive on foot, on bicycles, some children, just a few years old, still sleeping after nights of fear.

The attacks last week have left the village, where all the different communities devoted themselves to agricultural fields, empty.

There is no hope of returning yet, and the village chief is only asking for help for the thousands who have fled from Mmala to other villages: “We still don’t have support, I don’t know if they will give it to us. “

In Muhipal, a community in the village of Mmala, lived Sousa Americo, a 40-year-old peasant. After three days of walking with his five children and hundreds of other people, he arrived in Chiure.

“They didn’t kill anyone there, they just burned 47 houses. Everything is empty (…) We came here with nothing, we suffer from hunger and ask for support,” he says, still at the entrance to Cure. , before heading to one of three temporary school relocation camps, which the municipality says is currently hosting 13,000 displaced people in the village, in addition to those seeking refuge in the homes of friends and family.

“There’s no one else there. Everything is empty,” he describes, fearing the future and asking for support.

“The population here has nothing. We’re almost at sea,” Sousa America laments.

Mustafa Emilio, 45, has also just arrived in Cure, where 75,000 people lived before this wave of displacement. He arrived expecting refuge in the family home.

“We couldn’t bring anything. We left with nothing,” he says.

At least he says he is at peace because he managed to take his wife, children and sisters with him on an outing that lasted more than three days, with many fears.

He just doesn’t understand why: “I don’t know what these criminals need. They just make us suffer.”

After months of relative return to normalcy in areas affected by armed violence, Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique has been witnessing new movements and attacks by rebel groups for weeks, causing new waves of displacement.

On Thursday, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said during a visit to Cabo Delgado that the new rebel incursions are the result of armed groups trying to recruit new members, given that the province reported a “large terrorist movement” last month.

“They can no longer recruit in this province for many reasons, conscience [das populações] and then they want to see if they can attract other members here (…) They wanted to take children and young people with them, but they were not happy,” said Filipe Nyusi moments after holding a government meeting in Pemba, capital province .

Mozambican Prime Minister Adriano Maleyane, however, acknowledged the need for additional support for Cabo Delgado, given the flight of dozens of people due to new attacks reported in the province and a situation that creates “food problems.”

A new wave of armed violence in Cabo Delgado province dominated speeches at the resumed plenary sessions of parliament today, with the opposition demanding the executive branch find mechanisms for dialogue with the rebels.

The extremist group Islamic State (IS) has claimed several attacks and casualties in recent weeks, especially in the south of Cabo Delgado province.

The province has been subject to attacks claimed by IS for six years, leading to a military response since July 2021 with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) liberating areas near gas projects.