The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) yesterday, Tuesday, stressed its deep concern about the number of people who are fleeing their homes to escape the violence in northern Mozambique, many of whom can no longer return.

According to the agency, some 22,000 people fled their homes in Kabu Delgado province in a week in late September.

An Islamist insurgency has been raging in the region since 2017, and new attacks have been reported in recent months.

Rebels allegedly linked to the jihadist group Islamic State (IS) attacked in particular, last month against the town of Mosiboa da Praia, where a strategic port (northeast) is located, engaged in fighting with the army, and beheaded civilians.

“What we are seeing over the last two weeks is terrible human suffering. Civilians are no longer collateral damage in this conflict: they are now directly targeted,” noted Savier Kritch, UNHCR’s representative in Mozambique, from Pemba, in the northeastern part of the country.

He also stressed that violence has escalated greatly this year, with more than 500 attacks with civilian casualties recorded, far more than in previous years. He spoke of raids on villages, kidnappings, murders and looting. According to Mr Kritch, some warriors engage in forced recruitment of children and target women, indulging in sexual violence.

“The level of (…) desperation is shocking and alarming,” insisted Savier Kritsch. He stressed that “the recent escalation of violence is a turning point in northern Mozambique.”

“After years of uncertainty, families have reached their limits; some are staying despite the danger, others are leaving again with little hope of returning.”

More than 100,000 citizens have been forced to flee their homes so far this year in Mozambique, he said, explaining that 89% of those uprooted had already been forced to leave in the past.

At the same time, 22 humanitarian organizations have ended their activities in Kabu Delgado this year, making the situation even more difficult to deal with.

Mr Kritch also said that since the outbreak of armed conflict in 2017, more than 1.3 million Mozambicans have been displaced. “We are facing real difficulty,” he warned, speaking of an “invisible crisis.”