Violence in northern Mozambique Spills into Previously Safe Districts, UNHCR Says

Attacks in northern Mozambique have spread into districts once considered safe, displacing nearly 100,000 people in the past two weeks alone, the U.N. refugee agency said Thursday.

“These simultaneous attacks in several districts are generating a huge challenge for humanitarian actors who have to multiply emergency response in different zones of the country,” Xavier Creach, UNHCR’s representative in Mozambique, said in a statement. He added that civilians are being killed and that some “were even beheaded.”

The conflict, which began in 2017 in Cabo Delgado province, has already forced more than 1.3 million people from their homes. UNHCR said the violence has shifted in 2025, with coordinated attacks occurring at the same time across multiple locations and spreading westward into neighbouring Nampula province.

Humanitarian agencies have long relied on host communities in parts of Nampula and adjacent districts to shelter families fleeing fighting in Cabo Delgado. UNHCR warned those communities are now under threat as militants expand their operations, creating new waves of displacement and complicating relief efforts.

The new outflows — concentrated in several districts over the last fortnight — are testing an already strained humanitarian response. Aid organizations face the need to establish emergency shelters, deliver food and water, and provide protection services across a broader geographic area, UNHCR said.

Local and international relief groups have repeatedly called for greater access, funding and security guarantees to reach people trapped by the violence. The simultaneous nature of recent attacks means supplies and staff must be redeployed quickly to multiple frontlines, increasing logistical and security costs and stretching resources thin.

Details about casualties, including the reports of beheadings, come as rights groups and U.N. agencies continue to document serious abuses in the conflict. Independent verification in remote and insecure areas remains difficult, and aid agencies say more reliable access is needed to confirm reports and to assist survivors.

Analysts say the conflict’s persistence and expansion have roots in a mix of local grievances, governance gaps and regional dynamics. Efforts to stabilise the area — including military operations and development programmes — have struggled to keep pace with the shifting tactics of insurgents.

UNHCR called for scaled-up humanitarian assistance and for international partners to help governments in northern Mozambique bolster protection for civilians, restore access to basic services and support longer-term solutions for displaced populations.

AllAfrica’s peacebuilding reporting is supported by funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

By News-room

Axadle Times international–Monitoring.