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Mozambique: Christians increasingly vulnerable to Islamic State terror

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Christians in Mozambique are in increased mortal danger as the ISIS-Mozambique (IS-M) Islamic terror group wreaks extreme violence and havoc in the troubled country, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.

ICC reports that the ASJ terror group is believed to have murdered 3,100 people and caused the displacement of over 800,000 people in Mozambique.

“People have witnessed their loved ones being killed, beheaded, and raped, and their houses and other infrastructure burned to the ground,” the United Nations said in a 2022 report cited by ICC. “Men and boys have also been forcibly enrolled in armed groups. Livelihoods have been lost, and education stalled while access to necessities such as food and healthcare has been hampered.

“Many people have been re-traumatized after being forced to move multiple times to save their lives,” the UN said in its report.

Critically for Christians, Mozambique also has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world – and Christian girls are especially vulnerable to being taken and forced to marry and convert to Islam, ICC said in its report. “Girls as young as seven have been forced to marry or live with someone as though they are married, leaving them scarred with shame and stigma. It is estimated that 20 percent of girls ages 13 to 17 are impacted,” ICC said.

Mozambique now ranks 32nd on the US Open World Watch List of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted, a sharp increase from its ranking of 41 last year.