CSI’s partner is helping displaced children. csi
Since 2017, Christians in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province have endured immense suffering due to attacks by jihadists affiliated with the Islamic State. These terrorists have been targeting Christian villages, burning churches, murdering pastors, and forcing entire communities to flee for their lives.
The violence has intensified in recent months, with attacks now spreading to neighboring Nampula province as well. Radical Islamic jihadi groups, particularly the Islamic State Mozambique (ISM) and Al Shabab, are continuing their campaign against Christian communities.
While information about the attacks remains scarce due to limited communication and reliable news reports from the region, Christian Solidarity International (CSI) continues to receive updates on the deteriorating situation from our partners on the ground.
Recent attacks escalate violence
The jihadists attacked Muanquina village on July 30, 2025, and burned down two churches. Other districts that suffered attacks between July and August included Chiure, Ancuabe and Muidumbe – attacks that displaced over 50,000 people according to a report by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The violence has now spread beyond traditional target areas. A community leader in Montepuez reported that terrorist attacks have reached the town itself, threatening an area that lies far from previously targeted locations in Cabo Delgado. Many refugees had previously fled to Montepuez believing it was safe.
“The insurgents are creating terror,” CSI’s partner reported, “killing random victims not just Christians, and causing mass hunger as the people cannot go to their farms to grow or harvest food.”
Survivors share their stories
Firsthand accounts from survivors paint a grim picture of the crisis.
Two women who barely escaped the massacres shared their experiences with CSI. “People fled from the terrorists in Muanquina. Our houses were burnt and we came running to Pemba, but even here we are really suffering,” one woman said.
In the refugee camps in Pemba, where they have been for several months, conditions remain desperate. “There is nothing to eat,” the woman explained. “My children are out of school. I have a child in sixth grade and another in tenth grade and now we have no money to send our kids to school. The house we are staying in has been loaned to us, but the owner wants to sell it. My uncle who is staying with us is handicapped. We do not have a way to help him, and we do not have any way to return to Muanquina because our house has been burnt down.”
Another woman’s plea was for her two grandchildren: “We are insecure in this place and we don’t have any food to eat. Back in Muanquina our whole family was killed. My biggest request is for help for our children to study. Please help us to educate our kids. That is the support we really need.”
Non-Muslims targeted
According to CSI’s partner in Mozambique, terrorists continue to employ intimidation tactics, including sending threatening letters, blocking roads, and demanding exorbitant payments from non-Muslims attempting to use public roads.
One resident reported that a beheading recently took place less than 20 kilometers from his town, between Montepuez and the Christian village of Mueda, which forced him to flee and seek temporary refuge in Niassa Province. Despite the widespread fear, he said he plans to return home.
A local pastor recounted that he had arrived at the health center where his wife works just as Islamist militants entered the town. When his wife heard the insurgents approaching, she froze, but her husband grabbed her, took her inside the building and turned the lights off. The militants passed by their building and moved on to the next house, where they beheaded a local teacher.
On October 10, CSI received reports from a person on the scene that Islamist militants had stormed the coastal town of Palma in Cabo Delgado, and conducted a house-to-house raid, “breaking down doors” and asking residents if they were Muslim. Those who could not prove that they were Muslims were killed.
Last year, CSI reported that Islamic State forces in Cabo Delgado were beheading Christians, destroying churches and subjecting some Christians to the jizya, the traditional tax imposed on Christians and Jews under Islamic rule.
Prayer and aid
This continuing human catastrophe has received little attention as international focus has shifted to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, which have taken center stage.
However, religious leaders have begun speaking out. Pope Leo XIV raised the challenges facing Christians in Mozambique during his Angelus address on August 24, saying, “I express my closeness to the people of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, who have become victims of an insecure and violent situation that continues to cause death and displacement. In asking you not to forget these brothers and sisters of ours, I invite you to pray for them.”
Working with its partner on the ground, CSI has sent emergency food aid to dozens of Christian families displaced in camps in the Cabo Delgado province.
Those affected by the violence have expressed gratitude for support received and asked for continuous prayers.
