Rwandan and Mozambican forces on Saturday, August 28, started helping hundreds of people displaced by the IS-linked terrorists in Mozambique’s northernmost Province of Cabo Delgado return to their homes.

The first batch of refugees, 684 people, headed to their homes in Palma district. They were helped to evacuate from a vast camp of internally displaced people (IDP) in Quitunda village. The camp which is near Afungi port has been home to more than 10,000 people.

Hundreds of people were brutally displaced when the insurgency terrorised the region in 2017.

In the entire Province, more than 820,000 were displaced by the insurgency.

The process of helping people return to their home regions has started in the IDP in Quitunda but it will also be done in other areas of the Province.

The joint forces escorted the returnees to their homes and are also going to continue ensuring their security.

When The New Times visited Afungi port earlier this month, it looked like a ghost town, save for the activities of the RDF marine forces in speed boats patrolling the shoreline from the waters of the Indian ocean.

A few kilometres away, in the IDP camp, hundreds of malnourished children and adults appeared dejected but there were signs of optimism.

On July 9, the government of Rwanda, at the request of Maputo, deployed 1,000 troops to Cabo Delgado to help fight the terrorists, stabilise the area and restore the authority of the state. Kigali sent troops to work closely with Mozambique Armed Defence Forces (FADM) and forces from SADC, in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado. 

More than 90 percent of the Province is now free save for very few "pockets" where operations to wipe out the terrorists are now focused.

Cabo Delgado Province has 16 districts. But those mostly affected by the insurgents’ terror activities were Palma, Mocimboa da Praia, Mueda, Mocamia and Muidumbe.