Mozambique: Islamists behead Christians, burn churches, impose jizya
An upsurge in Islamist violence is targeting Christians in the north of Mozambique. Since the start of the year dozens have been killed and tens of thousands have been displaced. At least 18 churches have been burned down.
The violence centers on the majority Muslim northern province of Cabo Delgado. Since 2017, the Islamic State Mozambique (ISM) jihadist group has terrorized the province with repeated deadly attacks.
This new wave of violence comes despite the fact the Mozambican authorities, supported by Rwandan troops and a Southern African Development Community military contingent, appeared to have brought the insurgency under control at the end of 2023.
Cabo Ligado, a conflict observatory for Mozambique, reported an increase in attacks in the first three months of the year. It said that in January, incidents targeting civilians caused 21 fatalities – the highest monthly figure since December 2022. The attacks have focussed on the central and southern coastal region of Cabo Delgado.
One of the worst recent attacks occurred on February 9. The ISM overran a Mozambican army base in the village of Mucojo on the Indian Ocean coast, killing at least 20 people. When the army withdrew, it effectively handed over control of Mucojo and the surrounding areas to the ISM.
Churches torched
What is more, in February, ISM mounted its largest sustained campaign of attacks on Christian property in Cabo Delgado province since 2017. It claimed to have burned 18 churches in just three weeks, Cabo Ligado reported.
These attacks notably all occurred in Chiúre district in southern Cabo Delgado. Insurgents had marauded through villages, destroying buildings, and murdering civilians, including by beheading. Residents were forced to flee.
The ISM published its claims online – accompanied by photos of fighters setting fire to the churches and demolishing other Christian icons, such as crucifixes.
The Catholic mission of Our Lady of Africa in Mazeze was one of those church buildings that burned down. Nothing now remains of the rectory, church and offices but ashes, a parish priest reported. Pope Francis drew attention to the violent incident in an address on February 18, in which he lamented the upsurge in violence in the region.
CSI partners in Mozambique have met clergy in Cabo Delgado who are deeply traumatized and frightened by the upsurge in violence. “They told us that they sleep clothed at night and have placed a sack of food outside the door so that they can flee as quickly as possible in the event of an attack,” they reported.
Attempt to form a caliphate
The latest attacks in Chiúre leave little doubt that the insurgents are seeking out Christian targets, commented Tom Gould of Zitamar News, a news agency devoted to Mozambique.
“This appears to form part of a more general attempt to make good on its claim to embody a ‘caliphate,’ or Islamic government,” he wrote.
After their conquest in Mucojo, the insurgents reportedly imposed a ban on alcohol and introduced dress codes in accordance with a strict interpretation of shari’a law.
Meanwhile, in Quissanga district, insurgents demanded that non-Muslims pay the jizya. In Islamic shari’a law, the jizya is a tax which Muslim rulers are ordered to collect from Jews and Christians, in exchange for permitting them to live peacefully in Muslim countries. ISM fighters set up checkpoints where they collected tens of thousands of meticais, the local currency, from Christian drivers as jizya payments.
Overcrowded camps
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the new ISM offensive in Cabo Delgado drove 80,000 people from their homes between the beginning of February and the beginning of March.
The UNHCR earlier expressed deep concern over “the escalating humanitarian crisis.” It said nearly 90 percent of those displaced were women, many of them pregnant, people with disabilities, and the elderly.
CSI’s partners report that many refugee camps are overcrowded, including the camp in Namapa in the center of Cabo Delgado. They also say that the aid organizations present are completely overwhelmed by the scale of the problem and lack the resources to provide help to the refugees.
Some people had tried to flee to neighboring Tanzania. But the Mozambican government intervened and sent them back, they report.
In cooperation with local partners, CSI is distributing food parcels to highly vulnerable families and orphans.
