Mozambique government has begun a two-day forum to discuss the future of displaced people in the country as a devastating armed conflict in the northern Cabo Delgado region enters its ninth year. Since 2017, resource-rich northern Mozambique has battled an ISIL-affiliated armed group, known locally as al-Shabab, but which has no affiliation with the Somali armed group of the same name. Heavy troop deployments to the affected areas have so far failed to dislodge the group.
Renewed attacks since last August have caused a surge in displacement and humanitarian needs. The latest wave of violence affected all 17 districts of the Cabo Delgado region for the first time. Some former host communities are now fleeing for safety as well, while many others are being displaced multiple times.
More than 1.3 million have fled their homes in the course of the conflict, with 100,000 people recently displaced in late 2025 alone, according to the United Nations. With no military solution in sight, some are calling for negotiations. Here’s what we know about the conflict’s history and why a new wave of violence is happening: Renewed clashes between the Mozambican army and allied forces on the one hand, and al-Shabab or Islamic State Mozambique Province (ISMP) on the other, since late 2025 have worsened an ongoing humanitarian disaster.
Between January and July, at least 28,163 people were displaced; 65 percent of them were women and children. Clashes have been recorded around the strategic town of Mocimboa de Praia and surrounding areas. Armed activity has also been reported in formerly safe towns like Mueda, once a hub of displaced people and humanitarian organisations.
Amid US-led global aid cuts, several aid organisations have exited the north or limited their operations. The UN said the humanitarian response is reaching 619,000 of the 1.1 million people recently targeted due to funding gaps. About 1.8 million people need assistance, including a million children, according to UNICEF.
Some 6,000 people are believed to have been killed since 2017. In recent months, though, fewer people have moved, despite the violence, Hannah Danziger da Silva, country representative for aid organisation We World, told Al Jazeera. People don’t want to have to leave their crops and homes behind again.” Northern Mozambique is also facing more intense floods and cyclones, making the crisis multilayered.
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