From the 9th to the 12th of October, Islamic terrorists unleashed a vicious onslaught on the predominantly Christian village of Napala in northern Mozambique. “After the government army fled, the al-Shabaab extremists launched an even fiercer attack,” said a village leader. At least twenty Christians were killed. Two churches and 1,300 homes were destroyed, and around 2,000 Christians were forced to flee.
This attack follows a threatening warning from IS directed at Christians. Clearly, the attack on Napala is not a random incident, but part of a series of strategic attacks on the Church.
Siege
For days, terrorists belonging to the notorious militant group al-Shabaab (also known as Ahlu Sunnah wa Jama’ah, or ASWJ) carried out attacks on the village of Napala. Initially, soldiers from the FADM (Forças Armadas de Defesa de Moçambique, or the Mozambique Defence Forces) attempted to defend the predominantly Christian population. A local pastor recounts: “The situation worsened when the FADM attempted to intervene without success. When they fled, the situation for the inhabitants was even worse” Another pastor adds, “We mourn the deaths of four elderly Christian women who were tied up in a house and burned by insurgents.”
Below: photos of Napala after the attacks. Among other things, you can see the interior of a destroyed church.
People are fleeing Mozambique en masse due to extremist violence. Several violent attacks have occurred in the region where Napala is situated this year. Since the end of July, the aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF or Doctors Without Borders) has reported a massive influx of refugees to the nearby city of Chiúre. According to UN figures, almost 429,000 people had been driven from their homes in the northern province of Cabo Delgado alone by April 2025.
‘There is no doubt that the church is the main target of these attacks’
Jihad
Three days before the attack on Napala, IS published this grim warning: “If Christians in Africa want to be safe and escape the cycle of killings, they must know that pure Islam gives them three options: First, they can convert to Islam and become our brothers in imaan [faith], with the same rights and obligations. Second, they can humbly submit and pay the jizya [poll tax], thus sparing their blood and living safely in their villages. Thirdly, if they refuse both Islam and the jizya, death and expulsion will follow, as they have already experienced and suffered for years.”
In the publication, jihad is praised by the group, including the targeted killing of Christians in Mozambique and eastern DR Congo. It also urges IS supporters in Europe to ‘enforce divine judgement against Christians in their own regions’.
Strategy
The IS publication confirms the intention behind the attacks on Christians in sub-Saharan Africa. While some dismiss the attacks as ‘tribal or ethnic violence’ between population groups, they ignore the religious agenda and strategy behind the systematic violence. Local Open Doors partners have first-hand confirmation that a religious agenda is behind the violence in Mozambique, the D.R. Congo, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Sudan and Mali.
Today, millions of Christians in Sub-Saharan Africa have been driven out by jihadist violence and have become refugees. Through the ‘Break the silence’ petition, Open Doors aims to present no fewer than one million signatures to the UN, the African Union, the EU and national governments in 2026, to ensure that this crisis is high on their agendas.
‘It breaks our hearts to see how the Mozambican government is dealing with the violence’
Cover up
Meanwhile, local sources report to Open Doors that the Mozambican government is trying to cover up the extremist violence. One source says, “The government prohibits photography or the dissemination of information from conflict areas. Even in quieter areas, it is risky to publish anything outside of government control. Anyone found with a telephone or other device capable of taking photographs, whether they are a foreigner or a Mozambican, runs the risk of being arrested. There is a pervasive atmosphere of fear and reticence, perpetuating a veil of silence that silences the truth and permits the ongoing suffering to persist in obscurity.”
ENOUGH!
“There is no doubt that the church is the main target of these attacks. Countless Christians have been attacked, and many more attacks go unreported and uninvestigated. The church in Mozambique is experiencing deeply traumatic events. Believers and church leaders live in fear and under intimidation, emotionally exhausted. Despite their sincere desire to serve Jesus Christ, fear undermines the church’s public witness. But still we see that God is at work in the conflict zones, even though it’s not easy to explain how He does it.”
“It breaks our hearts to see the Mozambican government’s response to the violence. But it hurts even more when the church in Mozambique is left to stand alone. I believe it is time for the global church, the body of Christ, to stand up and say, ‘Enough! Let the bloodshed and suffering stop. So many of our innocent brothers and sisters are suffering persecution simply because they bear the Name of Jesus Christ.'”
Mozambique currently ranks 37th on the World Watch List.
‘Enough! Let the bloodshed and suffering stop.’
Prayer points
- Please pray for the people of Napala, who were recently attacked.
- Remember the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled jihadist violence in Cabo Delgado province in your prayers, too.
- Pray for the millions of Christians living in refugee camps across sub-Saharan Africa.
- Pray for those on the front line. Ask God to grant wisdom and guidance to pastors, small group leaders and church leaders, but also for physical and spiritual strength.
- Pray for the government of Mozambique, that they will protect every citizen to the best of their ability.
- Pray for Christians in Mozambique, that the violence, intimidation and trauma will not silence them.
- Pray also for Christians in ‘free countries’, such as the Netherlands, so that they may speak out and stand with their persecuted brothers and sisters in Africa.
- Pray for the attackers. Pray that members of al-Shabaab may come to know the Lord Jesus.
