EU Peace-Building Program Aims To Curb Radicalization In Mozambique - Spokesperson

The European Union is implementing a program aimed at curbing the growing radicalization and proliferation of extremist militant groups in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado, an EU spokesperson told Sputnik

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd April, 2021) The European Union is implementing a program aimed at curbing the growing radicalization and proliferation of extremist militant groups in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado, an EU spokesperson told Sputnik.

"Among concrete peace-building actions in place is one programme aimed at countering radicalization, discouraging recruitment and building social cohesion. Further actions were recently approved including an interfaith dialogue, community policing and livelihood support," the EU spokesperson said.

Regarded as one of the country's poorest and most neglected regions, Mozambique's northernmost Cabo Delgado province provided fertile ground for the spread of a regional Islamic State-linked group (IS terror organization, banned in Russia), locally known as Al-Shabaab, giving rise to an insurgency that plunged the country's north into chaos, forcing hundreds of thousands of locals to flee their homes.

"The EU and Member States represented in Maputo maintain a dialogue on a range of issues with European companies represented in Mozambique," the spokesperson added.

Violence was further exacerbated following the discovery of large natural gas deposits, with international oil and gas companies, including the French TOTAL and Italian ENI, initiating the construction of three LNG projects in the embattled region as authorities struggled to contain the violence.

Despite employing Private Military Contractors in a bid to secure the region, local authorities were thrown off guard as militants attacked the coastal town of Palma earlier in March, prompting the French oil and gas giant TOTAL to put constructions on hold and to evacuate all staff from the nearby Afungi site.