A Christian villager was beheaded after Islamist militants raided a Christian village in Memba, Nampula province, northern Mozambique on 17 June.
According to reports, the raid was by terrorists linked to Islamic State (IS – also known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh), and was the first such Islamist raid in recent years in Nampula province.
Barnabas Fund reports that IS has also claimed responsibility for the ‘beheading of several Christians’ in raids across Nangade, Cabo Delgado province, to the north of Nampula.
The militant Islamic State-affiliated organisation Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama started to gain control of some territories in 2017.
In late 2021, Mozambican, Rwandan, and South African forces had started to drive the Islamists back, but the Islamist insurgency now appears to be spreading.
