Experts dissect rising violent extremist attacks in Mozambique
It was pointed out that more than 1000 people have died during violent terrorist attacks and 250 000 people displaced.
There is a public debate in the SADC region on whether Mozambique’s “violent extremist attacks were rooted in historical religious tensions or socioeconomic hardships that the government had failed to adequately address,” according to Tina Andrade, Mozambique representative for Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES).
Arande was part of a panel unpacking the emergence of violent extremism in the Southern African nation and its implications for peace and security in the region; which included the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), the Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA) and Chatham House, as well as a broad rage of civil society organisations.
Deep rooted policy failures
Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project analyst Jasmine Opperman said while there were “some form of radicalisation” taking place among the youth in Mozambique, it should not be “automatically linked to Islam.”
However, she said, there had indeed been some level of foreign influence, and that existing tensions in the Cabo Delgado province are providing a gateway for foreign forces.
The discovery of substantial gas reserves off the Cabo Delgado coast has resulted in the area being now home to Africa’s largest liquid natural gas attracting enormous interest. A growing and relentless insurgency now threaten the investments.
Opperman believes the insurgents have highlighted the weak points in the government’s security forces and exposed the limitations of the country’s containment measures.
The SADC Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security further provides a legal framework for collective security, however, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) researcher Ringisai Chikohomero said SADC should not help Mozambique “evade its responsibilities on a local level by providing assistance from a regional level.”
Colonial-era effects linger on
Mozambique was a Portuguese colony, overseas province and later a member State of Portugal, but gained independence in 1975.
The country is, however, still suffering from the effects of a 16-year civil war that ended in 1992.
Chatham House African programme leader Dr Alex Vines said Mozambique had lingering colonial legacies which added to tensions in the country. This type of conflict has, however, been mostly confined to the far north area of Mozambique.
Vines explained that colonial Mozambique had developed as two separate countries across the Zambezi river, reinforcing different historical trajectories.