At least 10 Dead in Latest Attack in Mozambique

At least 10 Christians were killed in Memba town, Mozambique in attacks earlier this month, according to sources. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated on Tuesday that 71,983 people have fled.

From November 13-15, fighters associated with the Islamic State’s Central Africa Province (ISCAP) carried out coordinated attacks in the administrative posts of Chipene and Lúrio.

Several houses and several churches were burned. Many Christian families have been forced to flee to neighbouring districts, and military forces have been deployed.

Local partners have reported the killing of 66 Christians in Northern Mozambique in 2025. The recent attacks add an additional 10 deaths to this number. Survivors report extreme brutality in these killings.

One church leader, whose name we can’t share, was able to escape and told us: “I survived only by God’s grace. I am now in hiding because I am well known, and they would have killed me if they found me.”

About 500 km north of Memba, seven armed and uniformed men entered the fishing community of Mocimboa da Praia last week. The local mosque’s imam in, Sumail Issa, told CNN he only came to know they represent ISIS after they hanged a flag at the mosque. It is reported the jihadists were confident, and this came shortly after USAID funding was suddenly halted.

OD sources say that no mosques were reportedly destroyed, while all known church structures in the affected zones were demolished.

“We are deeply concerned about the ongoing and deteriorating security situation in northern Mozambique,” says a spokesperson for the work of Open Doors in Sub-Saharan Africa. “Not only does the displacement, brought on by the attacks, cause a dire humanitarian situation, but people are severely traumatized…We urge the Mozambican government to do everything in its power to protect vulnerable communities in northern Mozambique and restore law and order.”