Mozambique's National Centre for Counter-Terrorism: A New Front Against Extremism

• Mozambique has been plagued by terrorism for nearly a decade, with over 6,700 people killed.
• The government established the National Centre for the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism and Violent Extremism (CTC) in November 2025 to coordinate responses to terrorism.
• The CTC will run community awareness programs and counter terrorist financing through collaboration with financial institutions.

In a bid to address this challenge, Mozambique established the National Centre for the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism and Violent Extremism (CTC) in November 2025.

Mozambique has been ravaged by terrorism for nearly a decade, with over 6,700 people killed in nearly 2,500 attacks in the northern region. The insurgency, backed by the Islamic State, has exploited local grievances to recruit and radicalize youth who carry out attacks. These grievances stem from social and economic inequalities, youth unemployment, ethnic tensions, elite corruption, and the exclusion of local communities from the benefits of vast natural resource extraction. The government's response has been largely militaristic, with private military companies, local militia, and regional security forces deployed without much attention to the political and socioeconomic dimensions of terrorism.

In a bid to address this challenge, Mozambique established the National Centre for the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism and Violent Extremism (CTC) in November 2025. The CTC is a key provision of the National Strategy for the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism and Violent Extremism, which was approved by the government in March 2025. This strategy marks a turning point in Mozambique's counter-terrorism coordination and fulfils its international commitments under the United Nations, African Union, and SADC counter-terrorism strategies. The CTC will coordinate responses to terrorism, conduct risk analysis and security, and run community awareness programs to prevent radicalization.

The CTC is a centralized coordination mechanism that fills a major gap in Mozambique's counter-insurgency efforts. The centre comprises two specialized units: one for scientific research and data analysis, and the other for coordinating operations and conducting risk analysis. Analysts from various agencies will work together at the CTC, including military, intelligence services, police, prosecution, and financial institutions. However, critics argue that the military maintains control of counter-terrorism coordination, which may limit the centre's effectiveness in addressing the complex socioeconomic drivers of terrorism.

Lawyers advising clients on Mozambique-related business should watch for potential compliance exposures related to the new centre's operations, particularly in areas such as terrorist financing and radicalisation prevention.

Source: Original reporting via Can Mozambique's New Counter-Terrorism Centre Deliver?