#BreakingNews Attacks Destroy Churches in Mozambique - Pope Prays for Mission of Our Lady of Africa in Mazeze that was Set Ablaze
Pope Francis at his Sunday Angelus, noted that the Catholic mission of Our Lady of Africa in Mazeze was set ablaze.
“Let us pray for peace to return to that tormented region,” said the Pope.
Oliveira Amimo, the administrator of Mozambique’s Chiúre district, said armed assailants destroyed the Catholic chapel and several people’s homes.
Missionaries, priests and religious sisters have been forced to flee from remote towns and villages to Pemba and other large cities, which are overwhelmed with displaced people.
ACN Reports (Feb. 2024): According to information provided to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) by missionaries on the ground, several new and simultaneous attacks by armed insurgents continue to shake the province of Cabo Delgado in the north of Mozambique. The activities of Islamist insurgent groups have intensified in the region, creating an extremely complicated situation and an atmosphere of fear and insecurity.
The insurgency in northern Mozambique began in 2017 but has seen an increase in attacks since the beginning of 2024. In the last few days alone there have been several new raids on towns and villages, and people have been killed or kidnapped.
On 9 February, the terrorists, who claim allegiance to the Islamic State, attacked three communities in the area of Mazeze, 100 kilometre south from Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado.
“Churches were burned, as were the homes of the population”, says a local missionary, who asked not to be identified for security reasons. The attacks, along with rumours of further terrorist movement in neighbouring locations, led to the displacement of hundreds of people, who in many cases walked long distances through the bush to find refuge in Pemba or in the closest nearby city of Chiúre, causing overcrowding.Refugees fleeing on a truck from the attacks in Cabo Delgado.
A female missionary, who also asked not to be identified, said the terrorists destroyed houses and churches in several villages and are now “spread throughout the southern and central districts” of Cabo Delgado, though “the final goal of the movements or attacks are not clear” yet. “The situation”, she explained, “is very, very complicated.”
“Yes, many missionaries have also been displaced”, says a local priest to ACN, “the priest who was in one of the communities has moved to Pemba, the centre of the diocese, as have the religious sisters who lived nearby. Other missionaries are following suit, to protect themselves, but also to protect the population”, he confirmed. In fact, leaving is sometimes a way to protect the people, because quite often if the priests or sisters remain in the villages people feel safe and stay with them, which can leave them exposed to attacks.
Initially, the insurgents mostly targeted military or government structures, as well as villages and civilian communities, and did not discriminate between Muslims, who are a majority in this region of Mozambique, and Christians. However, over the past years, there have been reports of attacks on specifically Christian targets and communities, including cases where the jihadists separated Christians from Muslims and executed the former.
“The village that was attacked in the Chiúre region had already been attacked around two years ago, but the religious issue is not only against Catholics”, said the priest who spoke to ACN. “They have not limited their attacks to villages with Christian churches. As always, they attack absolutely everything, including churches, but also mosques, but they especially target the population and their houses”.Refugee settlement in the diocese of Pemba.
The insurgency in Mozambique has already caused at least five thousand deaths, leading to the displacement of over one million people, although these numbers are dated and so the current figures are probably significantly higher.
The Catholic Church is deeply involved in supporting the displaced people in northern Mozambique and in trying to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, having been critical of both the terrorists and the Government’s heavy-handed response.
A female missionary, who also asked not to be identified, said the terrorists destroyed houses and churches in several villages and are now “spread throughout the southern and central districts” of Cabo Delgado, though “the final goal of the movements or attacks are not clear” yet. “The situation”, she explained, “is very, very complicated.”
“Yes, many missionaries have also been displaced”, says a local priest to ACN, “the priest who was in one of the communities has moved to Pemba, the centre of the diocese, as have the religious sisters who lived nearby. Other missionaries are following suit, to protect themselves, but also to protect the population”, he confirmed. In fact, leaving is sometimes a way to protect the people, because quite often if the priests or sisters remain in the villages people feel safe and stay with them, which can leave them exposed to attacks.
Initially, the insurgents mostly targeted military or government structures, as well as villages and civilian communities, and did not discriminate between Muslims, who are a majority in this region of Mozambique, and Christians. However, over the past years, there have been reports of attacks on specifically Christian targets and communities, including cases where the jihadists separated Christians from Muslims and executed the former.
“The village that was attacked in the Chiúre region had already been attacked around two years ago, but the religious issue is not only against Catholics”, said the priest who spoke to ACN. “They have not limited their attacks to villages with Christian churches. As always, they attack absolutely everything, including churches, but also mosques, but they especially target the population and their houses”.Refugee settlement in the diocese of Pemba.
The insurgency in Mozambique has already caused at least five thousand deaths, leading to the displacement of over one million people, although these numbers are dated and so the current figures are probably significantly higher.
The Catholic Church is deeply involved in supporting the displaced people in northern Mozambique and in trying to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, having been critical of both the terrorists and the Government’s heavy-handed response.
Edited Release from Aid to the Church in Need with an Excerpt from Vatican News
Image ACN Mocimboa da Praia, au Mozambique, en juin 2020.
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