The President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, today called for vigilance in the communities affected by armed violence in Cabo Delgado, warning about cases of rebels infiltrating the population.

"We call for vigilance, because there are some who play IDPs [...]. They pretend to be displaced just to spy," said Filipe Nyusi, during a ceremony to inaugurate a building of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) in Metuge, a district that has one of the main reception camps for people displaced due to armed violence in Cabo Delgado.

According to Filipe Nyusi, the Armed Forces of Defense and Security are alert to the movements of rebels among the displaced communities in various parts of Cabo Delgado province.

"Some we have already caught, and those who were caught have already said that they have other colleagues around here [...]. I am calling attention and, if they are still here, we will catch these people," stressed the Mozambican head of state.

Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas, but terrorized since 2017 by armed rebels, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

There are 784,000 internally displaced people due to the conflict, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and about 4,000 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

Since July 2021, an offensive by government troops with Rwandan support, later joined by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), allowed the rebels to recover areas where they had been present, but their flight has provoked new attacks in other districts used as passage or temporary refuge. (Impala)