Insurgents attacked a Catholic mission in Chipene, Nampula province on Tuesday evening, killing an Italian nun and burning buildings and vehicles.
The attack began between 9pm and 10pm when insurgents entered the mission and set fire to the church, the health centre and the residential quarters of the priests and nuns, according to local sources. A nun named Sister Maria de Coppi was shot and killed. Two priests, called Don Lorenzo and Don Loris, and a group of other nuns managed to escape and are seeking refuge in Nacala.
A picture seen by Zitamar shows Sister Maria’s bloodied body with what appears to be a gunshot wound in the head.
Several other photos of the aftermath of the attack were posted on social media by the Concordia Mission Centre showing a building enveloped in flames and the burned out chassis of two pick up vehicles.
Sister Maria was 83 years old, originally from the Venice region of Italy, and had lived in Mozambique since 1963. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna, offered his condolences and invited people to pray for Maria “who for sixty years served Mozambique, which had become her home.”
