By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MAPUTO (Worthy News) – The Christian community in northern Mozambique prepares for a violent Christmas after at least ten more Christians were killed by Islamists in the closing days of November, Worthy News learned Wednesday.
Fighters from Islamic State Mozambique (IS-M) attacked a Christian village in the Ancuabe District of Cabo Delgado, the worst affected province, “slaughtering six,” said Barnabas Aid, a Christian charity supporting believers in the area.
“Four others were captured and killed in the neighboring province of Ituri,” the group told Worthy News.
Footage shared with Worthy News showed what witnesses described as “Terrorist men with guns approaching a village across dry and dusty land.”
In another attack on November 27, IS-M group fighters burned homes and church buildings in the Chiúre District of Cabo Delgado, but no casualties were reported, Christians said.
However, the violence added to human suffering as more than 14,000 people have been displaced from Chiúre and Anacuabe districts in recent weeks, Christian aid workers said.
The latest bloodshed was the latest in a nation where IS-M reportedly killed thousands of people in northern Mozambique since the beginning of an insurgency in 2017. Earlier, at least four Christians were killed in Cabo Delgado in the first two weeks of November.
PRAYERS URGED
“Pray for an end to the violence in Mozambique. Ask that our brothers and sisters, and all who are at risk of attack by Islamists, will be allowed to live in peace,” Barnabas Fund asked supporters. “Pray also that the Lord will comfort the bereaved in their time of sorrow.”
Islamic oppression, organized corruption and crime, “dictatorial paranoia,” and clan oppression are “the main threats for Christians” in the southeast African nation, said Christian advocacy group Open Doors.
It has ranked Mozambique 39th on its annual World Watch List of 50 nations, where it claims Christians face the most persecution for their faith in Christ.
“The rise of Islamic extremism in the north of the country, especially in regions like Cabo Delgado, has had a devastating impact on the lives of believers. Churches have been burnt down, pastors abducted, and many killed,” the group noticed.
“The objective of these groups is to establish a strict Islamic state, and Christians are often targeted as symbols of resistance to this extremist ideology.”
In addition, “Christians are often caught in the crossfire of the ongoing conflict between government forces and jihadist groups, making them even more vulnerable to violence and displacement.”
YOUTH WORKERS
Mozambique has also become a central hub for drug trafficking, with the presence of cartels contributing to a climate of lawlessness and violence, “which indirectly affects the Christian community,” Open Doors noticed in a recent assessment.
Church youth workers are particularly at risk, as they are often seen as threats to the cartels, Christians said.
Although people identifying themselves as Christians comprise about 56 percent of the southeast African nation’s population of 33 million, the government restricts religious freedom, Christians said.
Additionally, “within families and society, believers can face hostility, particularly converts from Islam,” Open Doors warned.
There was no immediate reaction from long-time President Filipe Nyusi or his party FRELIMO, which ruled Mozambique since its independence from Portugal in 1975.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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