Catholic Charity Contests Mozambican Authorities Directive on Return of Displaced Persons

“The communication by mayor Momba does not say what kind of ‘administrative measures’ will be taken against employees who, for some reason, do not come forward,” DHPI leadership says in the report authored by the foundation’s Director, Johan Viljoen. The report is co-authored by Reabetswe Tloubatla and Jeanette Lesisa from DHPI.

The DHPI officials further say that the current ultimatum is not the first time that authorities from districts affected by violence in northern Cabo Delgado order officials to present themselves to the respective authorities under penalty of being sanctioned.

According to the DHPI officials, calls for employees are made in a context in which conditions do not yet exist for the return of populations to towns that had been occupied by the extremists.

The officials of DHPI say that in March, a delegation from the Council of Ministers declared that they had not yet created conditions for the return of displaced populations to their areas of origin.

The Catholic entity recalls the decision of Mozambique’s Minister of Labor and Social Security, who said, in reference to populations affected by the violence, “There is trauma due to what they went through and we recognize the urgent need for infrastructure rehabilitation and allocation of means of work, especially circulating means, including ambulances.”

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The Minister, Margarida Talapa, is also said to have referred to the existence of “failures in the consolidation of security in the areas affected” by extremism.

DHPI, which is researching the evolution of conflicts in Mozambique and in a number of other African countries, says that violence remains present in Cabo Delgado.

Highlighting a recent incident, officials of the SACBC entity say, “Last Friday, a group of more than 10 insurgents attacked the headquarters of the administrative post of Olumbe. This is the first attack recorded in the territory under the control of Rwandan forces since the takeover of the village of Mocímboa da Praia and the administrative posts of Mbau and Pundanhar.”

In a report that was shared with ACI Africa in January, DHPI refuted claims that military intervention in Cabo Delgado’s five-year insurgency had yielded gains.

In the report shared with ACI Africa on January 13, DHPI officials said that they had continued “to receive numerous reports of ongoing atrocities against civilians, in the areas supposedly stabilized by Rwandan and Mozambican forces.”