The United Nations considers that the armed conflicts in northern Mozambique, particularly in the province of Cabo Delgado, worsened in the month of November 2021, with more attacks recorded since July of the same year.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) tracking matrix indicates that in that month, more than 20,500 people, where 51% were children, 28% women and 4% vulnerable people, left their areas of origin, moving to a situation of displaced persons.

By mid-December, there were about 734,000 displaced persons in the north of the country alone, a decrease of about 9,000 from the data collected in September.

"With the onset of the agricultural lean season" until harvests kick off in April, "it is estimated that more than 1.1 million people in Cabo Delgado, Nampula and Niassa face high levels of food insecurity," the document adds.

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 and ISIS Mozambique.

The conflict has claimed more than 3,100 lives, 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 several areas to recover, but the conflict spread in November to the neighboring province of Niassa.