Mozambique’s government confirmed on Tuesday that tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes by a recent wave of jihadist attacks in the north of the African country, but decided not to declare a state of emergency.

“We are talking about 67,321 displaced people,” government spokesman Philimao Swaze said during a press conference in the capital Maputo, referring to the situation in Kampuchea Delgado province.

That number, according to Mr. Swaze, “corresponds to 14,270 families” who were displaced, took refuge in Nabula province and “other locations.”

The spokesman added that the government does not “consider that the necessary conditions are present at this time to declare a state of emergency (…) in Campo Delgado.”

In the last two weeks, there has been a new escalation of violence in northern Mozambique, according to sources in the region and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which is part of the UN system.

IOM estimates that those displaced by attacks in various areas in the north have reached 71,681 from 22 December to 25 February.

In two days last week, from Wednesday to Thursday, it recorded the arrival of more than 30,000 displaced people, by boat or on foot, in Namapa, south of Campo Delgado province.

These people need food, shelter and access to health services, said an IOM representative.

Since 2017, the province of Campo Delgado, in the northern part of the former Portuguese colony, near the border with Tanzania, an area with rich natural gas deposits and a majority Muslim population, has become the theater of an armed insurgency by organizations that pledge allegiance to the Islamic State ( IK).

With the help of Rwandan military units and members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which have been deployed to the country in recent years to assist the Mozambican armed forces, authorities have regained control of much of the province, but jihadist attacks they continue.

The deployment of KAMA troops will typically be completed by mid-July, according to the regional organization.

Mr. Suase told reporters he would not comment on her, “at least for now.”

He assured that Mozambique is “doing everything it can” to “fight terrorism and guarantee the safety of the population” so that the “withdrawal or stay” of the regional military force is not decisive.

“The government is vigilant,” he added.

Last week, President Filipe Nyusi confirmed the displacements, but appeared to downplay the threat, stressing that security forces were keeping the situation under control.

His government announced that it had opened a reception center for families in difficulty in the district of Erat, which neighbors Kampu Delgado.

Nearly 5,000 people have been killed in the jihadist uprising and military operations to quell it.