The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 36 thousand people have been displaced from 2 to 22 June in the northern province of Cabo Delgado, as a result of the most recent terrorist attacks plaguing parts of that province.
It was in June that, for the first time, the jihadists struck at Ancuabe district, in the south of the province.
‘Individuals and families who fled the violence said that their first need is food, followed by shelter and non-food items’, the UNHCR said in a statement received on Thursday. The organization pointed out that newly displaced people need life-saving assistance, including access to food, shelter and basic services.
‘Transport fees have increased significantly due to increasing demands. Most people continue to travel on foot and are exposed to protection risks, particularly people with additional vulnerabilities, such as survivors of Gender-Based Violence, elderly people, people with disabilities, pregnant women and single female heads of households. Women and girls are also exposed to additional risks, such as sexual violence, including survival sex’, the UNHCR added.
UNHCR says it is concerned about the humanitarian consequences of attacks by ‘Non-State Armed Groups (NSAGs)”, the polite euphemism for islamist terrorists, in the districts of Ancuabe, Chiúre, Mecúfi and Metuge in Cabo Delgado province.’
‘UNHCR is especially concerned about the safety and well-being of the most vulnerable people among the displaced, including women and children’, the organization added, stressing that an unconfirmed number of people have been killed (including some by beheading), several houses have been set on fire and property looted, creating panic in Ancuabe and the surrounding districts.
The UNHCR, says the document, is working closely with the Humanitarian Area Country Team (AHCT), and other partners to ensure a coordinated response with the Government to assist the newly displaced families.
‘Due to the volatile security situation in the affected districts, UNHCR considers it premature to promote returns in the affected districts’, the organization explained.
Despite some spontaneous returns to areas of origin, UNHCR stresses the importance of ensuring that returns are safe and that basic services are restored.
