Conflict changes demographics and territory in Mozambique’s mining province of Cabo Delgado

The war in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province is causing significant changes to its territorial and demographic landscape, says the non-governmental organization (NGO) Aid in Action (Ajuda em Ação).

The conflict has forced hundreds of thousands to abandon their homes and livelihoods.

The report from Aid in Action highlights possible links between the violence, the displacement of populations, economic interests, and the geostrategic significance of the province.

Cabo Delgado, rich in natural resources and strategically located on the Mozambique Channel, is a legal and illegal trade route.

The NGO report suggests that the violence could be connected to interests in resource extraction and that control over African energy resources may override the need to uphold human rights, democratic governance, human development, and peacebuilding.

The NGO also warns of a “militaristic focus” in attempts to halt the war.

Cabo Delgado has a history of enduring “slow and structural conflicts,” including the wars of colonial occupation, liberation against Portuguese colonial rule, civil war, and the current conflict.

Aid in Action stresses that such continuous violence has eroded the individual and collective resilience of Cabo Delgado’s people.

The NGO further critiques the current humanitarian aid model during the conflict, suggesting it has led to dependency among the affected populations and authorities.

Instead, Aid in Action advocates for empowering the population to generate and use their own resources.

Jesús Perez, the general director of Aid in Action in Mozambique, highlights the need to ensure secure return of displaced populations to their homes and support their ability to produce autonomously.

Cabo Delgado has been battling an armed insurgency for five years, causing a humanitarian crisis with one million displaced people and around 4,000 deaths, according to the United Nations and the ACLED conflict registration project.

The ongoing conflict in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique, primarily involves Islamist militants and jihadists seeking to create an Islamic state in the region, engaged in combat with Mozambican security forces.

The main victims of the extremist attacks have been innocent civilians.