Mozambique: Terrorists burn down two churches, 95 homes in Ancuabe district – Lusa

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Mozambique: Terrorists burn down two churches, 95 homes in Ancuabe district – Lusa

4:55 CAT | 16 Apr 2025

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At least two churches and 95 houses were burned in the communities of Nkole and Ngura between Sunday and Monday, in a new attack attributed to terrorist groups in the Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, local sources told Lusa today.

In the attack, which took place during the day in those two villages of Ancuabe district, the suspected terrorists also stole 15 motorbikes from residents.

“The problem is serious. The terrorists burned 95 houses, two churches and stole 15 motorbikes, in broad daylight,” a source speaking from Ancuabe told Lusa.

There is no record of deaths among the residents, but the damage caused by the rebels precipitated the abandonment of the two communities.

“I still don’t know if anyone died or not, but we all fled from there,” said a victim who saw his house burned, speaking from Ancuabe.

Also in Ancuabe district, over the same period, the alleged terrorists burned two trucks on National Road 14, in the village of Nsanja.

Since October 2017, gas-rich Cabo Delgado province has been facing an armed rebellion with attacks claimed by movements associated with the extremist group Islamic State.

The last major attack took place in May, 2024, when around a hundred insurgents looting the district headquarters of Macomia town, causing several deaths and heavy fighting with the Mozambican Defence and Security Forces and Rwandan military, who are supporting Mozambique in the fight against the rebels.

In 2024 alone, at least 349 people died in attacks by Islamic extremist groups in northern Mozambique, an increase of 36% compared to the previous year, according to a study released by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS), an academic institution of the US Government Department of Defence.

Source: Lusa