Pope calls for security, peace for people of Mozabique's Cabo Delgado province
Vatican City, Vatican (PANA) - Pope Leo on Sunday expressed concern about violence for insecurity in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province and prayed for peace for the people.
Vatican News said the Pope, expressing his thoughts after Sunday Angelus, noted that people have “endured years of insecurity caused by extremist violence”.
Since 2017, attacks in the northern province have killed thousands and forced more than a million people to abandon their homes, seeking safety in other parts of the country.
“I express my closeness to the people of Cabo Delgado who have become victims of an unsecure and violent situation that continues to cause death and displacement,” said Pope Leo.
He urged the faithful not to forget “these brothers and sisters of ours”, and expressed his hope that the efforts of Mozambique’s leaders will succeed in restoring security and peace.
Recent attacks by armed groups in northern Mozambique have displaced tens of thousands in July alone, deepening an already dire humanitarian crisis in Cabo Delgado and straining limited aid supplies.
The displacement is the latest consequence of a cascade of overlapping emergencies in the country – including armed violence, climate shocks, disease outbreaks and a severe funding shortfall.
UN News reported that since January, over 95,000 people have fled insecurity in Cabo Delgado and humanitarian access is becoming increasingly fragile.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), attacks by armed groups between 20 and 28 July triggered the displacement of at least 46,667 people across the districts of Chiúre, Ancuabe and Muidumbe.
Chiúre was the hardest hit, with more than 42,000 people uprooted – over half of them children.
“Insecurity persists, and people on the move often lack civil documentation,” OCHA said in a humanitarian bulletin. “These challenges may impact the ability of displaced people to move freely, safely access basic services and maintain their livelihoods.”
-0- PANA MA 24Aug2025
