40,000 Displaced In North Mozambique After Assault On Palma

At least 40,000 people have been displaced in north Mozambique and urgently needing food after fleeing attacks in Palma in Northern Mozambique.

Four weeks after the rebels launched a 5-day attack, Mozambican police and relief agencies are working to help the thousands uprooted by the violence and restore the town to daily life.

The damage caused by Mozambique’s extremist rebels in their deadly assault on the northeastern town of Palma continues to be assessed and scores of dead still being counted.

Thousands of families are continuing to flee Palma by trekking on foot or seeking evacuation by sea or air and analysts say even though fighting has ended, Palma does not appear to be completely secure.

Meanwhile, the Mozambican military claims to have killed at least 36 attackers and local reports say one of the group’s leaders, named as Ayub, was killed when security forces bombed the town’s main mosque where the attackers were thought to be hiding.

According to the U.N, the aftermath of the siege of Palma is adding to the humanitarian crisis in northern Mozambique in which an estimated 700,000 people have been displaced and more than 2,600 killed in the conflict against the extremist rebels,.

Also, according to relief agencies, thousands of those who fled Palma are in danger of dying of thirst or starvation.