School of Social and Political Science

Description

Since 2017 northern Mozambique has been facing an insurgency the nature and dynamics of which are hotly debated. Some argue it is a home-grown conflict while others reckon it is a foreign phenomenon, if not a foreign conspiracy. Some advance it is a religious war while others see a popular or youth uprising behind the violence. Based on fieldwork in 2018 and 2019, this presentation explores the origins of the insurgency, its causes, and its objectives. It unpacks the history of the group behind the insurgency, reveals some of its politico-religious ideas, and discusses the dynamics of the violence under way in northern Mozambique today