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.

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 31 March, Ambassador Aviation pilots Dave LePoidevin and Dave Holmes arrived 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 Mozambican military have been controlling the area that includes an airstrip.

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 1 April they made two round-trip flights, approximately 50 minutes one way, 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.

Ambassador Aviation, in partnership with MAF, fly survivors to safety.

In partnership with VAMOZ (Voluntários Anónimos de Moçambique) and Mercy Air, Ambassador Aviation has flown a total of 80 flight legs from 31 March until 28 April. Flying to three unique destinations, they flew 8,615 kg of cargo including food and medicine for the refugees being cared for. In addition, they transported near 560 passengers to safety, including children, elderly, sick, wounded, and even one pregnant woman experiencing distress.

There were several happy reunions in Pemba with the arrival of family members reconnecting with those who were previously evacuated. Others were hoping to find family members they were separated from. Many of these Mozambican families were not from Palma but worked there and needed to leave due to the volatile situation. For the wounded, an ambulance awaited their arrival in Pemba.

On two of the flights to Afungi, we carried cell tower technicians, repair equipment, cables, and a power supply to restore communications, which had been down since the attack on Palma on 24 March.

The technicians were even flown over some of the sites (within the safe zone) that they hoped to repair.

One of the evacuated passengers ran a preschool in Palma. He said the attack began right outside of the school and weapons fire shook the building. He fled into the bush and hid out for 15 days. During his attempt to return home, he learnt that insurgents were using his house and school. He was very grateful for the evacuation flight to Pemba after his ordeal.

Please continue to pray for the people of the Cabo Delgado province as they endure insecurity, food and medicine shortages, and stormy weather.