Mozambique: October 9
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Youth are disproportionately at risk from extremism, particularly in situations where they have little to lose. In northern Mozambique, poverty, unemployment, low levels of participation in governance and the lack of inclusive development stand out. The Islamist insurgency in northern Mozambique has gained some traction due to its members’ promises of material benefits such as food, employment, and community. It is critical that youth be actively engaged by local officials on a continual basis.
Northern Mozambique’s expanding violence is more than just an Islamist insurgency: its political history, ethnicity, as well as the interests of past and present political figures, private security enterprises, and multinational extractive corporations have all contributed to the surge of violence. The security forces’ confused approach, as well as the government’s blackout of media coverage raises more questions about government intentions than it does about ISIS infiltration.
The violent extremist threat in northern Mozambique exploits underlying societal vulnerabilities of inequity, insecure land rights, and distrust of authorities.
The emergence of a new militant Islamist group in northern Mozambique raises a host of concerns over the influence of international jihadist ideology, social and economic marginalization of local Muslim communities, and a heavy-handed security response.
The number of African refugees, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers grew by 14 percent over the past year—to more than 45 million people.
Fatalities linked to militant Islamist violence in Africa have surged by nearly 60 percent since 2021, though this is marked by widely varying regional threat trajectories, actors, and objectives.
China promotes its dominant party model in Africa through a suite of training programs for party and government officials even though this model is antithetical to Africans’ preference for multiparty democracy.
The use of United Nations–assessed contributions to support African Union–led peace operations has the potential to revitalize peace operations in Africa.
Missile and armed drone strikes by Houthi militias and hijackings by Somali pirates have destabilized maritime shipping from the Red Sea to the Western Indian Ocean, impacting security and trade for all of Africa.
By co-opting apex courts, incumbents bent on regime survival can entrench themselves in power while maintaining what their citizens consider to be sham democracies.
Fatalities linked to militant Islamist violence jumped by 20 percent in 2023, claiming more than 23,000 lives—a new record. Over 80 percent of these deaths were in the Sahel and Somalia.