By Ayomide Otitoju
The United Nations expressed “grave concern” on Tuesday over the escalating humanitarian crisis in northern Mozambique, where roughly 300,000 people have been displaced by ongoing violence in recent months.
The jihadist insurgency in Cabo Delgado province has killed over 6,200 people, according to the Global Conflict Monitoring group ACLED, and the violence has spread into neighbouring Nampula province.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that nearly 100,000 people fled the region in the past two weeks alone, with a minimum of 287,000 displaced over the last three months, UNHCR representative Xavier Creach told reporters in Geneva. He noted that many more cases likely remain unrecorded.
“Approximately 300,000 people have been displaced since July,” Creach said, highlighting the intensifying attacks on villages and the rapid spillover of the conflict into previously safer districts, which has complicated humanitarian aid delivery.
UNHCR described the situation as one of “very challenging needs” and a “largely insufficient response,” warning that humanitarian actors cannot sustain relief efforts without additional support. The agency called for urgent international assistance to address the crisis.
Since the insurgency began in 2017, more than 1.3 million people have been displaced across Mozambique, underscoring the prolonged nature of the conflict.
