Maputo, Oct. 1, 2025 (Lusa) - The NGO Refugees International warned on Wednesday that Mozambique "desperately needs help" for the thousands of displaced people caused by a new wave of "cruel" extremist violence in Cabo Delgado, affecting more than 20,000 people in recent days.
"The recent increase in insurgent attacks on villages and towns in Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique, has led to a rapidly growing humanitarian and displacement crisis, with cuts in international aid hampering the humanitarian response," warns Mark Wood, from that Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).
Quoted in a statement by the independent organisation, which was founded in 1979, Wood says that the "recent increase in attacks by armed groups, including a group linked to Islamic State", is "mainly targeting civilians and has led to the displacement of at least 20,000 people, half of them children, by 24 September 2025".
"The attacks have been especially cruel and unpredictable in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, marked by kidnappings, murders and sexual assaults. Many of the displaced have already been forced to flee several times, part of a total of 1.3 million people who have been displaced due to conflicts, cyclones and drought since 2017," it said.
The gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed rebellion since 2017, which has caused thousands of deaths and a humanitarian crisis, with more than a million people displaced since then.
By the end of July, attacks by these groups had already displaced more than 57,000 people in the Chiúre district, south of Cabo Delgado, according to official figures.
Meanwhile, the province has seen an upsurge in attacks in the districts of Chiúre, Muidumbe, Quissanga, Ancuabe and Meluco. More recently, Mocímboa da Praia too, with several deaths reported, in which case the organisation Médecins Sans Frontières suspended its local activities.
'Humanitarian actors are sounding the alarm that massive cuts in foreign assistance are worsening the humanitarian and security situation,' the NGO points out, recalling that support from the United States of America (USA) alone has fallen from $821 million (€698.5 million) in aid to Mozambique in 2024 to $243 million (€206.7 million) in 2025, with HIV/AIDS programmes, emergency response and health "among the sectors that have lost funding".
"These cuts are part of a wider picture of aid groups scaling back or ceasing operations altogether due to funding shortages. Some have remained on tight budgets and some have had to suspend work in certain areas due to deteriorating security conditions," says Refugees International.
The NGO's 2024 report had already highlighted "the risks that women and girls face" in this scenario, such as "early and forced marriage, sexual exploitation and sex for survival".
"The conflict also continues to fuel the separation of families and the increase in unaccompanied minors," it emphasises, advocating the re-establishment of US and European Union (EU) support: "In particular, EU humanitarian aid to Mozambique must step up its efforts for immediate vital assistance. Regional actors must also provide diplomatic and security support to protect the region and guarantee humanitarian access."
It says that "without an immediate increase in humanitarian assistance and global attention, Mozambican civilians will face increasing devastation as the combatants attacking them are encouraged to expand their forces".
In 2024 alone, at least 349 people died in attacks in northern Mozambique, most of them claimed by the extremist group Islamic State, an increase of 36% on the previous year, according to a study released by the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies (ACSS), an academic institution of the US government's Department of Defence.
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