The Mozambican Defense Minister said, on Sunday, that 70% of the population displaced by the war returned to the province of Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country, as a result of the restoration of security in the face of the actions of armed groups operating in the region.
Cristóvão Chume, who was speaking during a meeting with foreign military attaches accredited in Maputo, said that “today we can see that the figure of the displaced population who returned to their areas of origin is around 70%”. Progress in the fight against armed groups have favored the normalization of life in communities previously ravaged by war, he added.
The Mozambican Defense Minister highlighted the gains made by the joint forces of Mozambique, Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). “Terrorism puts the security of the Mozambican State at risk, as well as that of all countries that want the well-being and security of their populations”, he emphasized.
Meanwhile, an alleged group of terrorists attacked the village of Chinda, in Mocímboa da Praia, in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, in the early hours of Friday, burning at least 11 houses, local sources told the press yesterday. “We are counting losses, the rebels invaded and burned 11 houses, a vehicle and a mill”, said a local source, in Chinda, a village in the administrative post of Diaca.
The community of Chinda, Mocímboa da Praia, borders the district of Muidumbe, across the Muela river, on national road number 380, one of the few paved roads in the region, connecting to districts further north, such as Palma, Mueda, Nangade and Mocímboa da Praia.
Chinda is also the intersection of the road that gives access to the administrative post of Mbau, a place also attacked by the rebels, but where communities have already started to return following several announcements about the restoration of security.
The province of Cabo Delgado has been facing an armed insurgency for six years, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State. This insurgency has led to a military response since July 2021 with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts close to gas projects, but new waves of attacks have emerged in the south of the region and in the neighboring province from Nampula. The conflict has already displaced one million people, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and around 4 thousand deaths, according to the conflict registration project, ACLED.
Danger of bird flu shakes southern Mozambique
More than 45,000 chickens were slaughtered, burned and buried in southern Mozambique to prevent the spread of bird flu, the Lusa news agency announced yesterday.
The birds were imported from neighboring South Africa, which has been hit by an outbreak of the disease.
The outbreak has already spread to the district of Morrumbene, in Mozambique, in the south of the province of Inhambane. While authorities try to contain the disease, there are fears that it could spread to other parts of the country.
Avian influenza is an infectious disease of domestic and wild birds. It can spread through entire flocks of poultry in a matter of days, through bird droppings and saliva, or through contaminated food and water.
In Mozambique, the outbreak caused a shortage of eggs and chickens and a sharp increase in prices in recent days, especially in the capital Maputo, which almost doubled.
The 45,000 chickens incinerated were in contact with others infected with bird flu in South Africa, said the national director of Livestock Development in Mozambique, Américo da Conceição.
Chickens were brought to Mozambique to lay eggs
South Africa has faced one of its worst outbreaks of bird flu, forcing poultry farmers to kill seven million laying hens, which equates to 20-30% of the country’s entire flock, according to the South Africa Association. African Birds.