Story Amber Thomson Photos Daniel Juzi, Paul Middleton, Rolland Trempert and Dave LePoidevin.
IN TIMES OF CRISIS: MOZAMBIQUE EVACUATIONS Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has been assisting in the evacuation of fleeing residents in northern Mozambique after attacks by militants on the town of Palma. MAF, which operates in Mozambique under the name Ambassador Aviation, has been flying survivors of the attacks to the Cabo Delgado provincial capital of Pemba. Insurgents began their offensive on 24 March on coastal administrative posts and moved on to Palma. Thousands have fled the area, some by boat and others into the surrounding jungle. Extremist attacks in Mozambique began 2017. International aid groups estimate that over 700,000 people in the province have been displaced from their homes since the attacks began.
in Pemba to assist with coordination of evacuations from Afungi. The Afungi peninsula, outside of Palma, has been heavily guarded due to construction of a major liquid natural gas plant by a French company. Private security forces, local police and the Mozambiquan military have been controlling the area that includes an airstrip.
To make matters worse for all residents in the Cabo Delgado region, Tropical Storm Jobo made landfall near the northern border of Mozambique, creating delivery delays. You may recall that Ibo was one location in MAF’s disaster response following Cyclone Kenneth that occurred on 25 April 2019.
On 1 April they made two round-trip flights, approximately 50 minutes oneway, evacuating 13 adults, 12 children and six babies. The International Committee of the Red Cross assisted the refugees once they arrived in Pemba. This began a long journey of many evacuation flights over many days.
Refugees coming to Afungi were screened by police and company security forces to prevent infiltration by insurgents before being accepted as passengers and evacuated by Ambassador Aviation’s Cessna Grand Caravan, other aircraft, ships and boats.
On 31 March, Ambassador Aviation pilots Dave LePoidevin and Dave Holmes arrived 6
