DANGER: Jihadists may be opening new front in Southern Africa

The advent of violent extremism in Mozambique and its implications for peace and security in southern Africa has security experts on tenterhooks, particularly since the region is beset with enabling factors.

According to the Human Sciences Research Council’s Africa Institute of South Africa, the presence of violent extremists affiliated with Islamic State (IS) in northern Mozambique has raised the threat levels in the region. With the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia and a clampdown on violent extremism in Kenya and Tanzania, the institute has interrogated whether the IS-affiliated extremists are opening up a new front in Mozambique.

Outright poverty, corruption and local government failures, as well as weak and fragile states in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries have emerged as the key driving factors for violent extremism to take root. Anthoni van Nieuwkerk, professor in the University of Witwatersrand’s School of Governance, said a recent report suggested these factors contributed to people, especially young people, joining extremist organisations.

He said the violent extremism in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province was seen by some experts as the latest security threat to SADC countries. Van Nieuwkerk said that, according to a recent Institute for Security Studies report, SA has been linked to al-Shabaab, Al Qaeda and most recently Islamic State, with about a 100 South Africans estimated to have joined the group.

Also read: Mozambique jihadists tests SADC region’s anti-conflict resolve

“The country also has a history of violent extremism stemming from domestic reasons that remain prevalent… within the SA context. Corruption is also an enabling factor that allows for extremist activities in terms of planning operations.

“Corruption compromises security, for instance, through aiding extremists’ entry into the country and undermining the capability of the security forces to address threats. It could further aid in the transfer of funds to extremist groups,” he said.

According to Enio Chingotuane, researcher at the Institute of International Relations, the insurgence problems in Mozambique were developmental as the country was poor and in a fragile state. The question was whether Mozambique could deal with this huge problem alone.

“According to the European community, no state can counter violent extremism and radicalisation alone. It must cooperate at all levels with everyone.

“The SADC declaration on terrorism can be used to justify SADC intervention in Mozambique. It states that member states must exchange information in identification of institutions, networks of terrorism and harmonise legal instruments against terrorists,” he said.

Chingotuane added that counterterrorism was not only about securitising, there was also a need to respond to local issues, come up with developmental strategies and return to the SADC ratification that talks of developmental cooperation.

“What Mozambique is facing in terms of local issues are predominant in some countries in the region.”

– siphom@citizen.co.za

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.