Islamist militants beheaded two Christian men during an attack on a minibus in northern Mozambique.
The attack took place on 30 July, near the village of Nova Zambézia in Macomia district, Cabo Delgado.
The killings were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) of Mozambique, known locally as al-Shabaab.
A statement by IS-Mozambique declared, “By the grace of God Almighty, the soldiers of the Caliphate … killed two Christians, beheading them, and shooting them with weapons.”
Islamists gained effective control of an area of Cabo Delgado in 2017. The province has since been termed “the Land of Fear” owing to brutal violence meted out against both Christians and moderate Muslims.
Mozambican and Southern African Development Community forces had started to drive the Islamists back in late 2021. However, the Islamist insurgency now appears to be spreading.
In June 2021, IS-Mozambique claimed responsibility for the “beheading of several Christians” in Cabo Delgado. Another was beheaded during a raid on a Christian village in the neighbouring province of Nampula.
Pray that the Lord will comfort the family and friends of the two Christians so brutally murdered. Ask that the violence perpetrated against Christians and others by IS militants will come to an end, and that peace will be restored to Cabo Delgado and the surrounding areas.
