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Tanzanian security forces report they detained "many" people trying to cross the border to join the insurgency in Mozambique. This hints at a trend we should monitor in a number of African conflict theaters: the influx of foreign fighters.
1/n https://clubofmozambique.com/news/tanzania-detains-people-trying-to-join-islamist-insurgency-in-mozambique-coming-from-kigoma-mwanza-and-elsewhere-177880/
1/n https://clubofmozambique.com/news/tanzania-detains-people-trying-to-join-islamist-insurgency-in-mozambique-coming-from-kigoma-mwanza-and-elsewhere-177880/
In August, I argued in @WarOnTheRocks that the stage is set for an influx of foreign fighters---from both regional & extra-regional nations---to African insurgencies.
2/n https://warontherocks.com/2020/08/the-looming-influx-of-foreign-fighters-in-sub-saharan-africa/
2/n https://warontherocks.com/2020/08/the-looming-influx-of-foreign-fighters-in-sub-saharan-africa/
This threat is a function of three factors: [1] the steady propagation of Islamist insurgency, [2] escalating inter-militant competition, & [3] continued fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Combined, they open the door to an increased influx of foreign fighters in the region
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What does this mean for the conflict in Mozambique? Expect more foreigners to attempt to join #ASWJ. But for the time being, though an affiliate of the Islamic State, the group is more likely to attract regional foreign fighters than those from extra-regional countries.
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Despite ASWJ's notable success of late, the group's relatively recent emergence in the global jihadist scene (& the absence of a local Al-Qaeda competitor) likely makes more established Islamist insurgent orgs more appealing destinations for would-be global foreign fighters.
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Mozambique is not the only African conflict theater where we see evidence of FF activity. This year, a @UN report claimed that an uptick in armed clashes in #CAR was sparked "by arrivals of foreign fighters and weaponry, mainly from Sudan.”
6/6 https://www.thedefensepost.com/2020/07/16/foreign-fighters-central-african-republic/
6/6 https://www.thedefensepost.com/2020/07/16/foreign-fighters-central-african-republic/
Thanks to @EColumbo2019 and @Jasminechic00 for putting this report on my radar.
