About 670,000 people have been forced to abandon their land and homes because of the armed conflict in Cabo Delgado. Of these, 570,000 (85%) have found refuge within Cabo Delgado province, while about 64,000 (9.5%) have taken refuge in the neighbouring province of Nampula. Hence these two provinces are sheltering about 95% of all those displaced by the war. The other 5% are to be found in the rest of the country, mostly in Niassa and Zambézia provinces. These figures refer to the period prior to 2 March 2021, when the insurgents attacked the capital of Palma district, forcing thousands of people to flee. With the attack on Palma, the number of displaced people may have exceeded 700,000.
The Centre of Public Integrity (CIP) undertook field research in Cabo Delgado and Nampula provinces to determine how and where the people displaced by the war are living. The research was held in February in Cabo Delgado and in March in Nampula.
