The Secretary of State of Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique has announced that insurgents who turn themselves in to the authorities will be rehabilitated and reintegrated into their communities.

António Supeia said that the government and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are working on setting up three transitional centers in the districts of Muidumbe, Macomia and Mocímboa da Praia.

"Some people didn't return because they couldn't find an interlocutor from whom they could return. Some were afraid to report to the defense and security forces. The idea was to find a neutral actor who would be in front of the centers, without the defense and security forces or an individual in uniform being the face," said António Supeia.

Quoted by RFI, he added that the government and the International Organization for Migration are setting up transit centers: "In one way or another there are people who are returning and these people, on the one hand, should be treated in a non-discriminatory way, but also integrated in a more sustainable way to prevent many of them from returning," he concluded.

The centers will be set up in the districts of Muidumbe, Macomia and Mocímboa da Praia.

The province of Cabo Delgado has been affected by a conflict since 2017 that has terrified the population. Groups of armed rebels have pillaged and massacred villages and towns all over the province and a variety of attacks have been claimed by the 'arm' of the self-proclaimed Islamic State in that region.

(Photo DR)