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Suspected Islamic extremists disguised as military uniforms gathered a crowd in Mozambique’s Nampula province before separating Christians from the crowd, tying their hands and slitting their throats, a Catholic bishop said.
Bishop of Nacala, Alberto Villa Arejura, tells Catholic community Aid to Churches in Need This week, a Christian survivor who managed to escape told him about last month’s killings.
Survivors told the bishop that the terrorists were in military uniform and that they called people to say they were here to save them.
“When they all got together, they started asking who was Muslim and who was Christian. Those who called themselves Christians, they started tying their hands behind their backs and slitting their throats,” the bishop was quoted as saying.
The bishop said the killings took place on the night of September 6 and the following day, “a total of 11 people were murdered and they left a trail of destruction and fear.”
According to reports, on September 6, an 83-year-old Italian nun, Sister Maria de Coppi, was stormed by gunmen in a Catholic mission area in the city of Chipene and set fire to buildings including a church and a hospital.
The attack, which lasted five hours, saw militants looted and burned the Mission church, schools, health centers, homes, libraries and vehicles in the Diocese of Nacala to aid churches in need report earlier.
Aréjula said he knew the nun, “she was the figure of a mother who really helped everyone with simple love and humility.”
“Sister Maria de Coppi was a nurse who would help malnourished children in a small room with milk and flour, which they also destroyed.
According to reports, the gunmen are likely to be security forces fleeing Mozambique, Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community.
At least 24 countries have sent troops to support Mozambique’s fight against insurgents, and the Mozambican army has been accused of corruption and has 7,000 “ghost soldiers”. BBC.
In Christian-majority northern Mozambique, Islamic State-linked insurgents have Internal displacement More than three-quarters of a million people, according to the United Nations.
In the coastal province of Cabo Delgado, Islamic extremists have been taking advantage of the crisis after the civil war erupted in 2017. The region is rich in natural gas, rubies, graphite, gold and other natural resources. Protesters at the time voiced their opposition to what they said was profits going to the elites of the ruling Freemo Party, where there were few jobs for local residents.
“In 2017, jihadist insurgents started in Cabo Delgado province, winning over some locals as they returned government resources to villagers and didn’t kill anyone,” said U.S.-based persecution watchdog Christian Internationale Follow the organization report earlier. “However, this didn’t last long as ISIS started setting fire to Christian villages and killing those who lived there.”
Cabo Delgado is a predominantly Muslim area where at least 300 Christians have been killed for their faith, according to the International Criminal Court. There have also been more than 100 attacks on churches in the area.
March 2021, USA put on label ISIS-Mozambique is a “specially designated global terrorist”. ISIS-Mozambique is also known as Ansar al-Sunna and locally as al-Shabaab. The group reportedly took an oath of allegiance to ISIS as early as April 2018 and has killed hundreds if not thousands of civilians.
ISIS-linked militants, November 2020 beheaded More than 50 people, including women and children, kidnapped others in attacks on the Miudumbe and Macomia regions of Cabo Delgado province over the weekend.
In December, Human Rights Watch disclose The insurgents enslaved more than 600 women and girls, many of whom were abused and sold as sex slaves for as little as $600.
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