UN Scaling Up Assistance for Victims of Brutal Attack in Mozambique

GENEVA - The UN.'s International Organization for Migration said Tuesday that more than 3,360 deeply traumatized survivors of last week's massacre in Palma District in northern Mozambique have arrived in Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado province, and many more reportedly are on the way. 

IOM spokesman Paul Dillon said they have been arriving by foot, bus, plane and boat.  He said many fled with nothing but the clothes they were wearing.  "Our staff on the ground have been told that many of those evacuated saw their family members being killed, that they hid in the forest for days to evade the armed men who attacked their communities," Dillon said. "Others, of course, do not know where their family members are.  They reported also that many homes were destroyed."  Dozens of civilians were reportedly killed by Islamist militants who attacked Palma on March 24.  Aid agencies report the situation there remains very volatile.  Communications have been cut, so information is hard to get.