Maputo — The extreme violence perpetrated by the Islamist terrorists in some districts of the northern Mozambican Province of Cabo Delgado since 2017 has forced the closure of eight district offices of the Institute for Legal Aid (IPAJ).

According to IPAJ national director, Elone Chichava, interviewed by AIM, as a result of the attacks, there has been a large movement of people from the affected areas to safer ones, which also forced the closure of institutions.

"It is difficult to estimate the number of people deprived of legal aid in Cabo Delgado due to the high mobility of families in the affected areas', Chichava said

Terrorism in Cabo Delgado, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), has caused around 4,000 deaths and has contributed to the displacement of one million people.

Since 2021, Mozambican military forces, with support from Rwanda and Military Mission in Mozambique of the Southern African Development Community (SAMIM), have been fighting terrorists expelling them from certain regions that they had occupied.

"However, now that normality has returned, we have opted for the itinerant legal assistance mechanism, which means that in places where IPAJ is not physically located, mobile assistance is provided. For example public defenders from the provincial delegation travel to a community and set up tents to assist the population', Chichava explained.

Chichava also said that, as part of the partnership between the Supreme Court and IPAJ, several mobile trial sessions have been held in the communities.