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Mozambique: Eight Christians murdered by Islamic State affiliates

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Eight Christians were murdered by the Islamic State-affiliated Al Shabaab terror group (not the Somali-based group of the same name) in a series of jihadist attacks across northern Mozambique in September, the Barnabas Fund reports.

Claiming responsibility for the murders, Al Shabaab said in a statement that one Christian was killed and a church building burned down in attacks in Nampula on September 7, Barnabas said. The terror group said a further four Christians were killed, and 120 houses and two church buildings burned down on September 8.

Al Shabaab added that they murdered two more Christians in September attacks in Cabo Delgado Province, where they have been terrorizing both Christian and Muslim communities since 2017, Barnabas reports.

“[The Al Shabaab] Islamic State-affiliated group is seeking to establish an Islamic Caliphate in Mozambique,” Christian advocacy group Open Doors USA said in a statement.

“Their efforts have included numerous atrocities, burned churches and religious schools, and displacement of tens of thousands of people from the northern part of the country. These attacks have allowed religious persecution, which used to be limited almost entirely in the north, to spread,” Open Doors said.

With Al Shabaab increasingly active in the country, Mozambique ranks 41st on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2022 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.