Joy, agony as boat brings Mozambique attack survivors to safety

A week after Palma attack, there were scenes of happiness and desperation at Pemba port as 1,200 people arrived by boat.

More than 1,000 survivors of a deadly attack last week on the town of Palma in northern Mozambique have safely reached the port of Pemba by boat, some of them crying on arrival after spending days hiding in the forest. Aid workers on Thursday were at the crowded port in the capital of Cabo Delgado province to give food to the displaced people disembarking from the green-and-white ferry. Police and soldiers kept control of crowds of people excited to see relatives, while others continued to despair without any news. An emotional Mariamo Tagir, who arrived on the ferry, said she had spent seven days in the bush, crying every day. “I don’t know where my son is … it’s very painful,” Tagir told Reuters news agency. “The situation is really bad, many dead.”