Jihadists working to establish a caliphate in Mozambique, bishop warns
The Catholic bishop of Pemba has warned that jihadist insurgents in northern Mozambique are openly declaring their intention to establish a caliphate modeled on the Islamic State, as a nearly decade-long insurgency continues to kill and displace civilians across Cabo Delgado province.
Bishop António Juliasse said in a message to Aid to the Church in Need, a pontifical Catholic foundation, that militants are stating their objective directly to those they encounter.
“The signs are all there. They speak openly of a caliphate. When they find people, when they kidnap victims. That is what they say — that they are working for a caliphate,” he said.
The insurgency in Cabo Delgado began in 2017. More than 300 Catholics have been killed, many by decapitation, and at least 117 church buildings have been razed or destroyed, according to ACN. Among the structures lost is the St. Louis of Montfort mission church, a large historic structure burned to the ground at the end of April.
More than 1 million people have been displaced.
Bishop Juliasse said the violence has damaged religious coexistence in the region, where Muslims hold a slight majority.
“What worries me is the hate speech which accompanies all the violence,” he said. “For a long time, religion was one of the aspects that made coexistence easier, but now it is becoming an obstacle; it is beginning to divide. In the villages in Cabo Delgado, Christians used to attend Muslim funerals and vice versa, but now this is beginning to be questioned, and this is not because of the Christians.”
The bishop called for a political response alongside military operations.
“I don’t believe that the military option is the only solution. We need to find different paths, including one that Mozambique is already familiar with, the path of dialogue,” he said.
The Islamic State Mozambique Province, known as ISMP, claimed a series of attacks during the last week of September 2025, including the beheading of two Christians in Chiure-Velho, Chiure District, a raid on Nacocha village in Chiure District in which one Christian was shot dead and two churches were burned, and an assault on Nacussa village, also in Chiure, where fighters set fire to two more churches.
Fighters also raided Macomia Town, killing four Christians and looting their belongings before withdrawing. ISMP subsequently reported the beheading of a Christian in Macomia District. In Nakioto village, in Nampula Province’s Mimba District, the group said its operatives burned more than 100 Christians’ homes and one church. In nearby Minhanha village, in Memba District, militants destroyed one church and 10 homes.
In October 2025, ISMP released a 20-image photoset documenting executions by beheading and close-range gunfire, and the burning of homes and churches, as reported by the Middle East Media Research Institute at the time.
In November 2024, militants captured and killed four Christians in Muidumbe District, Cabo Delgado, in separate incidents involving throat slitting and a gun attack.
ACN said it has been providing emergency aid, psychological and social support, and help rebuilding damaged infrastructure to communities affected by the insurgency.
