Renewed attacks in Cabo Delgado
Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique. Reported onset 1 May 2024.
TL;DR
Renewed insurgent attacks across districts of Cabo Delgado interrupted a return movement that had been under way for several years, displacing families who had recently gone home and producing overlapping return and displacement flows in the same districts.
What happened
- Attacks resumed across several districts of Cabo Delgado after a period in which many families had returned to home areas.
- People who had recently returned were displaced again, often to district capitals and to host families rather than to formal sites.
- Access for humanitarian organisations narrowed in the affected districts.
Why it matters for the data
- Return is treated as a durable solution only when it is safe and sustained, and this event shows how quickly recorded returns can reverse.
- Hosting by relatives rather than camps means displacement pressure lands on household economies and is hard to see in site data.
- The province hosts major energy investment, so displacement here interacts with commercial and security decisions.
What to watch next
- IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix Mozambique baseline assessment rounds.
- ACLED verified event records for the affected districts.
- OCHA reporting on district level access.
Where the figures come from
This page does not publish population figures for the event. Numbers for an active event change faster than any single page can responsibly restate them, and access restrictions mean estimates carry wide uncertainty. The organisations below publish the current figures and the methodology behind them.
Country context
For the wider picture, see the Mozambique displacement dashboard, which tracks conflict events, population movement and humanitarian needs on a rolling basis.