The Catholic Church in Mozambique has raised alarm over the surge in child kidnappings in conflict-hit Cabo Delgado province. Father Kwiriwi Fonseca of Pemba Diocese said insurgent attacks in the gas-rich province have caused mass abductions and widespread displacement.
Human Rights Watch reports at least 120 children were abducted between January and May 2025 for forced labour, marriage, or as human shields. “These children must be found and returned to their parents. They deserve to dream and to have a better future,” Fonseca said.
Save the Children described the crisis as harrowing, calling for urgent humanitarian intervention to protect vulnerable children and families in the region. Ilaria Manunza, Save the Children’s Country Director, warned fresh attacks undermine efforts to rebuild lives of children who have endured conflict for eight years.
“The distress these children face is unimaginable. The conflict must end for them to reclaim even a semblance of childhood,” she said. Father Fonseca cautioned that the crisis risks being forgotten internationally, denouncing the war for bringing only death and despair to civilians.
He urged humanitarian aid for displaced communities, stressing that without immediate assistance, the situation could spiral completely out of control.
Recent attacks since July 20 have killed 30 people and displaced 60,000, with half believed to be children, according to IOM and OCHA. The ongoing conflict, which began in October 2017, has killed 6,000 and displaced over one million, leaving an equal number in urgent need of aid. The Church and aid organisations continue to call for global attention and immediate action to halt violence and protect Mozambique’s most vulnerable.
