IOM says 7,029 fled Cabo Delgado violence between 21 September and 27 October 2026

New arrivals

The agency said some families had been displaced more than once. Pregnant women, older people, people with disabilities and unaccompanied children were among those who fled, IOM said. Food was the most urgent need, followed by shelter and healthcare. Most new arrivals are staying with host communities, IOM said.

Dana Graber Ladek, IOM chief of mission in Mozambique, said the wave was increasing pressure on communities already hosting people uprooted by years of conflict. "These communities need help with food, shelter and healthcare. Without timely support, life could get much harder for displaced families and the people hosting them," she said.

IOM warned that declining humanitarian funding and continued displacement were hampering relief efforts as needs grow.

Displacement totals

As of October 2026, more than 205,000 displaced people were living across 84 displacement sites in Cabo Delgado, IOM said. Children made up more than half of that population. That figure counts people in sites, not all those displaced by the conflict.

Estimates of the wider displaced population differ. UNHCR estimates about 1.3 million people have been displaced since 2017. ISS said in October 2025 that the conflict had displaced over 1.1 million people, around half the province's population. UNHCR also reported that more than 26,000 people fled between January and June 2026.

The five-week IOM count comes after years of displacement. In September 2025 alone, about 30 attacks killed at least 40 people, 39 of them civilians, and forced about 20,000 to flee, ISS reported. The insurgency began in October 2017 in Mocímboa da Praia district and has expanded to 16 of Cabo Delgado's 17 districts. Pemba, the provincial capital, remains the only area not to have suffered an attack by the Islamic State-linked insurgents.

Violence behind the displacement

OCHA recorded 44 incidents of violence against civilians in June 2026, 59% of all incidents it recorded that month. Those incidents resulted in 10 civilian deaths and the abduction of 72 people. Five incidents in Macomia and Mocímboa da Praia involved improvised explosive devices, which injured three girls. OCHA said insecurity had expanded into previously less affected areas, with Namuno district suffering its first attack since 2022.

ACLED recorded at least 11 political violence events in Cabo Delgado between 1 and 14 June 2026, with at least eight reported fatalities, including at least four civilians. It counts at least 2,408 events and at least 6,632 reported deaths since 1 October 2017, including at least 2,772 civilians.