MISA Mozambique, an NGO that defends press freedom in the country, says that the upsurge in armed attacks in Cabo Delgado, in the north, has once again raised the tone of threats against journalists involved in covering the conflict.

The organization points to the most recent pronouncements made by the governor of Cabo Delgado province, Valige Tauabo, last Saturday, February 17.

Speaking to journalists a few moments after the launch ceremony of the sports activities in the "Sport for Peace" project in the city of Pemba, Vilige Tauabo took around two minutes to make veiled threats against the work of the press.

"During his speech, the governor of Cabo Delgado even accused the journalistic class of only recognizing the values of terrorists to the detriment of the values of the population and the Defence and Security Forces (FDS)," says the MISA press release to which MZNews had access.

Outraged, MISA believes that statements like those made by governor Valige Tauabo should be considered worrying, "especially in a context where the authorities' hostility towards independent journalism has already led to the arrest of several journalists and the disappearance of at least one reporter in Cabo Delgado".

"In a country with a strong culture of authoritarianism and militarization, pronouncements like those of Governor Tauabo can encourage risky measures against journalists, especially by the defence and security sector," MISA said in its statement.

MISA points out that the recent threats to journalists come at a time when the security situation has once again deteriorated, with armed groups operating in the province carrying out a series of attacks, especially in the southern districts of the province and in the coastal area of the Macomia district.

MISA also says in its document that the history of the Cabo Delgado attacks shows that, at the most critical moments of the conflict, the Mozambican authorities find one of their weakest links in journalism, largely because of the need to ensure a low level of accountability for the true events.

MISA also recalls that one of the central roles of journalism in democratic societies is to report on events of public interest, including tragedies such as the one that has befallen Cabo Delgado for more than six years.

"Reporting on the attacks is not about recognizing terrorist values to the detriment of the values of the population and the DSF, as the governor of Cabo Delgado suggests. On the contrary, it is providing a public service in the public interest, which is to keep the country and the world, and first and foremost the population of the affected areas, informed about the events around them, especially events that put human lives at risk," the organization explains.