On Monday 23rd, the radical group Islamic State claimed the execution of yet another "Christian", almost a month after the massacre of 11 other "Christians" in the district of Mocímboa da Praia, in Cabo Delgado province.

For political analysts, this new reference to Christians suggests a new propaganda and visibility strategy for the new leadership.

Through its propaganda channels, the group claims to have beheaded a Christian captured near the village of Chiquimba, in the Mocímboa da Praia area, not far from Naquitengue, where 11 others were executed in mid-September.

"The soldiers of the caliphate captured an infidel Christian in the area of Mocímboa da Praia, in Cabo Delgado last Sunday, and massacred him with slaughter, praise be to God," the group wrote in a statement, noting that the incident took place in the state of Mozambique.

Voice of America has not been able to independently verify the veracity of the announcement that is spreading on social media, but several local reports indicate that a person was beheaded on the cashew farms while trying to inform his parents in the cashew grove about the presence of terrorists in the area.

Political analysts suggest that with attacks on "Christians" in a Muslim-majority area, the group wants to "vindicate the image" of the group's new leadership and prevail terror in the region.

Speaking to Voz da América, Tobias Zacarias argues that the war in Cabo Delgado continues to be social in nature, where groups of young people have risen up to demand economic gains from the natural gas megaprojects, with other groups, including drug and gem traffickers, taking advantage of this struggle to finance themselves.

Regarding the killings of Christians and the destruction of churches in Cabo Delgado, Zacarias believes that "the evidence on the ground does not point to religious extremism, extremism in Cabo Delgado is more social and political".

The observer points out that religion is only being used as propaganda "because we wouldn't also have mosques and beheaded Muslims".

Wilker Dias, who is defending his master's degree on the war in Cabo Delgado, believes that the new leadership wants to draw the world's attention with its new strategy of executing Christians, but insists that the war in Cabo Delgado is not just about religion.

"It's not about a religious divide, it's propaganda to draw the attention of the various national and international actors because the premise of terrorism is to cause terror in a country with a Christian majority, and Christians will be the most used targets in this perspective of the terrorists' change of leadership," says Wilker Dias.

The insurgents operating in Cabo Delgado have links to the Islamic State and have carried out sporadic attacks in several districts devastated by the violence, which entered its sixth year this October.

The new attacks are carried out by the group almost a month after the announcement of the death in combat of its known leader, Bonomade Omar, whose death was announced in September by the government.

Since 2017, terrorist attacks have led to the deaths of around 4,000 people and the flight of more than a million, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which, however, ensures that more than half of the displaced have returned to their areas of residence. (Fly)