The attacks spanned through the last week of September. Militants hit multiple villages in Cabo Delgado and Nampula provinces, leaving burned-out churches and homes in their wake.

Arimba, a coastal town in the northern Mozambique province Cabo Delgado. (Photo courtesy of dimitry/Unsplash)

The Islamic State Mozambique Province (ISMP) later released a gruesome 20-image photoset showing executions, shootings, and arson — a chilling display meant to sow fear.

“These militants would often separate Christians from other villagers and begin persecuting them,” says Floyd Brobbel with The Voice of the Martyrs Canada. “So this seems to be the case here, and they’re not shy about reporting what they’ve done. They’re claiming responsibility for these attacks.”

Mozambique’s northern regions have faced an Islamist insurgency for years. Despite military intervention from Rwanda and neighboring countries, the violence continues.

“They can blend in, and they can suddenly rise up and cause problems and attack communities, and then they’re gone again,” Brobbel explains. “So they’re hard to locate. They’re hard to pinpoint.”

Even amid devastation, the Church continues to stand. “There are churches that continue to minister in those hot zones. They need our prayers,” Brobbel says.

“We rely on the verses in Scripture and the promises in Scripture that tell us that the gates of Hell cannot prevail against the Church. So we need to be praying and remembering those [who] are in those regions and continuing to serve as salt and light. Pray that they would get a foothold for the Gospel and that we would see many of those who are militants against the Church would become followers of Christ.”

Brobbel adds, “For ministries, pray that the leaders would have wisdom and understanding in how to reach back into their communities…and finding ways to be able to target these groups with the Gospel.”

Ask God to strengthen believers in Mozambique’s war-torn north — and for their persecutors to become disciples of Jesus.

Learn more about how VOM Canada supports persecuted Christians at vomcanada.com.

Header photo courtesy of VOM USA.