Since October 2017, Cabo Delgado in Mozambique has been the focal point of a violent insurgency, resulting in widespread human rights abuses, significant infrastructure damage, and over 5,700 fatalities, including nearly 2,400 civilians. This conflict has led to the internal displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, predominantly women and children, who face increased risks of exploitation. The region, one of the poorest in Mozambique, has seen its community resilience severely compromised, with longstanding cross-border economic, familial, and cultural ties with southern Tanzania being adversely affected.
Stephen Buchanan-Clarke is a security analyst with several years' experience working in both conflict and post-conflict settings in Africa, primarily on issues of peace and security; transitional justice and reconciliation; democratisation and governance; and preventing and countering violent extremism. He currently serves as head of the Human Security and Climate Change (HSCC) project at Good Governance Africa and is a co-editor of the Extremisms in Africa anthology series.