Cross-border Conflict Assessment (Mozambique-Tanzania), Executive Summary

This cross-border conflict assessment (CBA) for the Daraja la Amani | Pontes de Paz project, sought to identify resiliency factors within cross-border communities that have the potential to contribute to community resilience to violence and, specifically, violent extremism (VE) recruitment and radicalisation in the borderlands of Northern Mozambique and Southern Tanzania. It gathered data to inform the project’s interventions considering the conflict setting and dynamics in the cross-border region. Specifically, the study had four objectives:

1. Understand the region’s conflict dynamics, focusing on intersectionality and how the conflict affects men, women, young women, young men, and other vulnerable people.
2. Identify push and pull factors of radicalisation and VE that attract communities to Violent Extremist Organisations (VEOs) and resilience strategies that could be strengthened throughout the project.
3. Identify the existing (formal and informal) resilience mechanisms and forces for peace.
4. Identify communities’ security needs and priorities to draw the project’s success indicators and the community-level resilience index.

The research primarily employed a qualitative methodology, incorporating a mixed-method approach and data triangulation. In Mozambique, data collection was conducted in the districts of Palma, Mueda, and Nangade through Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with representatives of Law Enforcement Agencies, Local Government Authorities, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and Community Influencers, including local and religious leaders. Additionally, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were held with community members. In Tanzania, data was gathered through a literature review and informal conversations during stakeholder meetings organized by the project, with a geographical focus on the Mtwara region.