Thousands of displaced families in Mozambique need your prayers

At the end of 2025, attacks in the Memba District of Mozambique saw the violent displacement of thousands of families. Now, many have no home to return to. Please pray.

Thousands of families have been displaced in Mozambique because of violent attacks in the Memba District at the end of last year.  

The assault on Mecula village began on 13 November and continued for two days, spreading to other areas including Mazua and Pavala regions. At least ten people were killed and one church, the Baptist Union Church, was reduced to ashes. An estimated 12,000 people were forced to flee, including around 3,000 Christians. 

On 10 December, attacks in Pavala also left hundreds with no other option but to flee their homes, causing widespread panic. 

The extremists carrying out the assaults are believed to be a part of Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP), a group which has been systematically attacking majority-Christian areas to eradicate their presence.  

Without family, without home 

Since the attacks, thousands remain displaced and trapped in the uncertainty of their futures. More than 200 Christians remain stranded in Pavala and some report police preventing displaced people from leaving Memba, forcing others to return to unsafe areas. 

Hundreds are now missing because of the attacks, and their loved ones have no means of finding them. Lena* is one of the displaced from Mecula and is a mother of six children. “They killed my neighbour, and on that same day we managed to escape from there to this place. I lost my husband – I don’t know where he is,” she says. Lena also lost two children during the attack, their whereabouts currently unknown. She and those she fled with were able to find refuge at a pastor’s house. “We came to the pastor’s house, and he said, ‘Oh, family, rest!’ The pastor gave us a house, and we are very grateful.” 

Josephina* too has lost family. She shares, “My husband disappeared, and I have no information about where he is. I am completely lost. I have four children and a niece, and all of them were taken. I don’t know where they were taken to, and I was left only with this baby I am holding in my arms. 

“I also lost all my belongings, because I have no one to ask whether anything of mine is still there. They keep burning everything, and I am confused and helpless. Here, it’s just me and the clothes I arrived in. Even to cook, I borrow utensils from the place where I am sheltered. Everything I’m using is from here. I don’t know what I will do if they say we must return to our homes – what will I even find there?” 

Vulnerability and trauma are now the daily experience of those who have been displaced, and Christians are especially singled out and violently abused during attacks. 

“Please pray for us” 

Lena and many others ask for your prayers: “This war must end. We are suffering. We left all our belongings behind. So, I ask you, Christians, wherever you sleep or walk, please pray for us so that we may return to our homes and nothing bad may happen to us.” 

Cecilia, a mother of eight children who is now displaced, says, “I need food, household items and shelter. I pray that there will be spiritual consolation and peace in the country.” 

Mozambique is number 39 on the World Watch List and is suffering at the hands of extremist violence, like many countries across sub-Saharan Africa. In the face of growing instability, your prayers and support are essential in reminding our brothers and sisters that they do not stand alone – their global family is interceding for them.  

Sign and share the Arise Africa petition here to advocate for justice and healing for the persecuted church in Africa. 

*Names changed for security reasons