UN says nearly 60,000 displaced by heavy fighting in northern Mozambique

A new outbreak of violence occurred in northern Mozambique, which has large offshore natural gas reserves [File: Alfredo Zuniga/AFP]

Nearly 60,000 people have fled Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province in two weeks, a United Nations agency has said, amid a years-long rebellion by fighters affiliated with ISIL (ISIS).

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement on Tuesday that escalating attacks that began on July 20 had displaced 57,034 people, or 13,343 families.