Nine people have been killed and three church buildings burned down in several Islamist attacks against Christian communities in Ancuabe District, Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique.
The killing of five “Christian combatants” took place in the village of Namecala on May 9 alongside the burning of a church and 163 homes, according to a claim published by Islamic State Mozambique (IS-M).
In recent months, Islamic State propaganda has used the word “combatants” to describe Christians and Jews who have refused to accept either conversion to Islam or dhimmi status as subjugated people under Islamic rule.
Islamic State propaganda video showing the burning of a Christian village in Cabo Delgado in 2025.
On May 8, two Christians, also in the Namecala area, were captured and beheaded. A day earlier another believer was beheaded near the village of Nanoni.
These attacks came after a May 2 incident in which one man was killed and two buildings burned down in the village of Macaiamo. In a separate attack on the same day 50 houses were burned down along with a church building in the village of Miegane, adding to a house and church burned in the village of Ncoe two days earlier.
IS-M has killed thousands of people in northern Mozambique since the beginning of an insurgency in 2017 that has also displaced more than half a million.
How You Can Pray
Ask the Lord to comfort those bereaved in this latest attack. Pray that those traumatized in this series of attacks will receive divine strength and encouragement. Cry out for an end to the ongoing violence in northern Mozambique.
