Abstract

FORQUILHA, Salvador  and  PEREIRA, João. Migration Dynamics and the Making of the Jihadi Insurgency in Northern Mozambique. e-JPH [online]. 2022, vol.20, n.2, pp.132-154.  Epub Dec 31, 2022. ISSN 1645-6432.  https://doi.org/10.26300/n4kn-va04.

Drawing on extensive fieldwork conducted in Cabo Delgado, Nampula, and Niassa Provinces, this article analyses the links between migration dynamics and the development of the jihadi insurgency in Northern Mozambique. It argues that the advance of the insurgency made use of the dynamics of external and internal migration, which fed a vast network of recruitment to Al-Shabaab, facilitated essentially by the porous nature of the border with Tanzania and by fishing activity on the islands of the Cabo Delgado coast. The article investigates the intense cross-border dynamics (Mozambique/Tanzania) and the way these dynamics have been exploited by the Al-Shabaab group for recruitment purposes. In addition, it shows that there is a long tradition of migration in Northern Mozambique, from Nampula coastal districts (Angoche, Mossuril, Ilha de Moçambique, Nacala-a-Porto, Nacala-a-Velha, and Memba) to Cabo Delgado coastal zones (specially Macomia, Mocímboa da Praia, and Palma) linked to fishery activities. Most of the young people who have been recruited from Nampula coastal districts to join the Al-Shabaab group were attracted by the “dream” of finding a job in the fishery in Macomia, Mocímboa da Praia, or Palma districts, in Cabo Delgado Province, as has always been the case in the past.

Keywords : Migration; jihadi insurgency; recruitment; Al-Shabaab; Northern Mozambique.

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