Share Aid Between Locals and Displaced to Avoid Conflicts, Bishop in Mozambique Says

In order to stop the conflict in Cabo Delgado, Bishop Juliasse says it is good to engage the Islamic population in the area in a dialogue and also getting communities within Muslim themselves talking for a way forward. 

“Dialogue with Muslim brothers and among themselves must be encouraged. In particular, families must find ways to dialogue with young people to show them that the true face of the Islamic religion is not violence,” says the Bishop pointing out that violence and extremism is not the true face of Islam. 

The Social Communications Director of Pemba Diocese, Fr. Fonseca Kwiriwi has estimated that hundreds of boys and girls have already been abducted in the ongoing violence in Mozambique.

“We can speak of hundreds, because if we include all the villages from where people have been abducted, we can undoubtedly state this much.” Fr. Kwiriwi explained, adding that the abducted boys are trained to fight on the side of the militants while girls are forcefully married off to the fighters.

“The terrorists use these children and forcibly train them to fight in their ranks, whereas the girls are raped and forced to become their ‘brides’. In some cases, when they have grown bored with them, these girls are simply thrown out,” Fr. Fonseca tells ACN in a report published on Monday, June 14.

More in Africa

“Words seem inadequate”: Nigerian Catholic Nun on Winning $1.2 Million Opus Prize

Read the article

“Although there is no official data on the number of missing children and young people, they are several hundred, if we take into consideration the different villages from where they have been kidnapped,” says Pemba Diocese head of communications Fr. Kwiriwi Fonseca. 

Reports from humanitarian and charity organizations show that more than 11,000 people have been displaced in areas experiencing attacks. Most of them have settled in Pemba.