Maputo/New York: Amidst unconfirmed news of beheading of a dozen ‘ white foreigners’ in Palma in Cabo Delagado province of North Mozambique where Islamic State (ISIL) has been increasingly active since 2017, leaders from Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe met on the invitation of Mozambique President, Filipe Nyusi, here on April 9, 2021, to work out a joint strategy to counter the growing incidence of armed insurgency across the region.
The news of beheading of the foreigners following an ISIL attack was broken to the state broadcaster by a local police commander who claimed he buried the bodies himself.
“We along with our partners are closely following with deep concern new reports of violations against civilians, including alleged beheadings and unverified reports of the use of child soldiers, during attacks by non-State armed groups and clashes in Cabo Delgado’s Palma District that have been going on since 24 March,” Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General, told journalists in New York. He though said it was “extremely difficult to verify information on these incidents at this time for us, but we are concerned about the situation of civilians who fled the violence and those who remain in Palma”.
The United Nations has called on all parties to the conflict in Cabo Delgado to protect civilians. It informs that nearly 12,800 people — 43 per cent of those 12,800 people are children — have arrived in the districts of Nangade, Mueda, Montepuez and Pemba. Many more are expected to still be on the move in search of safety and assistance.
“Humanitarian partners in Mozambique are assisting displaced people at the arrival points and scaling up the ongoing humanitarian response in Cabo Delgado. So far in 2021, more than 500,000 people in the province have received humanitarian assistance,” Dujarric informed.
However, the humanitarian community in Mozambique was already stretched prior to the Palma attacks, having responded to multiple climate emergencies, on top of conflict in Cabo Delgado, in the first months of 2021. Yet, the humanitarian appeal for the Cabo Delgado crisis was currently just 1 per cent funded. More resources were immediately required to meet the needs of people fleeing the violence in Palma, Dujarric said.
– global bihari bureau
