Senegal’s experience from the Casamance reveals that security agencies’ trust-building with local communities is a vital practical means of gaining cooperation and preempting mobilization to violence.
The ADF militia in eastern Congo is one of the oldest, yet least understood militant groups in Africa. This Spotlight from 2019 is a reminder to be skeptical of anything it says about itself—including claims of ties to outside groups for attention and recruitment.
Japan’s role in the Nacala Corridor is noteworthy. Instead of attempting to out-mine, out-process, and out-spend China, Tokyo is pursuing an approach that plays to Japan's strengths: innovation, sharing advanced technology, and partnerships built from the bottom up.
africacenter.org/spo...
The Nacala Corridor—a joint project of Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia—simultaneously represents a push by China’s competitors to diversify their critical mineral supply chains, and an effort by African countries to capture more value from their resources.
China controls over half of global critical minerals production and produces nearly 70% of rare earth minerals and over 90% of high-strength rare earth permanent magnets.
The best time to stop a conflict is before it starts.
Our new Africa Security Brief looks at how to reduce the triggers of societal conflict in Africa through proven community-based conflict mitigation techniques—and how to scale them nationally.
africacenter.org/pub...
JNIM has also used the repression and violence against civilians by the military juntas in Burkina Faso and Mali—as well as atrocities against civilians by junta-aligned Russian paramilitary groups—to drive recruitment.
africacenter.org/spo...
2/2
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger continue to face intense pressure from militant Islamist groups, driven by the Jama’at Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) coalition, which has been linked to 78% of the fatalities in the region last year.
1/2
State-owned enterprises are central to Chinese policy in Africa.
Chinese SOEs wield significant leverage that can constrain African agency and priorities—especially in contexts where political will to protect public interests and enforce local laws and regulations is weak.
africacenter.org/spo...
Conflicts can have national or international implications, but most conflict events occur at a community level. Response and prevention should happen at the local level too—but that doesn't mean it can't be scaled up for wider effect.
africacenter.org/pub...
Mineral development models that focus narrowly on the extraction and transportation stages can exacerbate instability. The Nacala Corridor offers an alternative model that works for all parties.
africacenter.org/spo...
5️⃣ A co-creation model linking investment with governance 🤝
The corridor reflects a “co-ownership/co-creation” approach, combining African and Japanese investment with governance reforms, environmental safeguards, and long-term capacity building.
4️⃣ Improves transparency and reduces illicit flows 🔍
Centralized logistics hubs and one-stop border posts allow minerals to be tracked, verified, and documented, strengthening oversight and limiting smuggling and informal trade networks.
3️⃣ Prioritizes African value addition—not just exports ⚙️
The corridor is explicitly aimed at helping African countries capture more value from minerals like graphite, cobalt, and rare earths through processing and industrial development.
2️⃣ Built on cross-border logistics connectivity 🚆
At its core is a regional infrastructure network connecting landlocked Zambia and Malawi to Mozambique’s deepwater port—enabling seamless mineral flows across borders.
5 Facts to Know: The Nacala Corridor Model for Mineral Supply Chains
1️⃣ An integrated, end-to-end supply chain model 🔗
The Nacala Corridor is designed as a complete mineral supply chain—linking extraction, processing, transport, and export rather than focusing only on moving raw materials.
Wider application of these mediation techniques could reshape Africa's threat landscapes. Our latest Security Brief looks at what this scaling would like in practice.
africacenter.org/pub...
4/4
But a decade of research has shown that community-based conflict mediation and negotiation training reduces incidents of violence and distrust, mitigating the root causes of these societal conflicts by equipping communities with skills to resolve their own conflicts before they escalate.
3/4
Security force responses to these social conflicts are necessary but are only addressing symptoms—and sometimes can even escalate violence.
2/4
Much societal violence in Africa and elsewhere is triggered by …
… competition over land and water
… boundary disputes
… ethno-religious mistrust
… other community-level grievances
When stoked, these can easily lead to broader conflict.
1/4
En Afrique, les morts imputables aux groupes islamistes militants continuent d’atteindre des niveaux records. Les 23 968 morts enregistrées en 2025 constituent une augmentation de 24 % par rapport à 2024 et reflètent une augmentation de la violence.
africacenter.org/fr/...
Mozambique saw a dramatic reduction in militant Islamist violence in 2023, coinciding with the deployment of SADC forces. Unfortunately it has been rising ever since.
Currently, Mozambican security forces are only supported by a contingent of Rwandan troops.
africacenter.org/spo...
While the Sahel saw the most fatalities linked to African Islamist groups, Somalia saw the sharpest increase. With the recent addition of Islamic State violence, Somalia suffered a record 4,561 deaths in 2025.
africacenter.org/spo...
The Nacala Corridor project illustrates how integrated mineral ecosystems can diversify access to strategic resources while enabling African value addition, accountability, and stability.
Learn more:
africacenter.org/spo...
4/4
The Nacala Corridor represents an alternative model for resource development.
A joint project supported by Japanese and African investments, its backbone is a cross-border logistics network connecting landlocked Zambia and Malawi to Mozambique’s deepwater Indian Ocean port in Nacala.
3/4
Many of these resources are concentrated in fragile states led by unaccountable governments with opaque processes for contracts and revenue distribution.
Mineral development models focused only on extraction and transportation can exacerbate these governance and fragility problems.
2/4
Global demand for critical minerals and rare earth metals has risen sharply due to their importance in advanced digital technologies, defense and aerospace manufacturing, renewable energy systems, and high-performance electronics.
1/4
Africa saw record levels of militant Islamist group activity last year, resulting 23,968 fatalities—a 25% increase over 2025. The region driving this is the Sahel, where 41% of those deaths occurred, and half of *those* deaths happened in Burkina Faso.
africacenter.org/spo...
The fight against militant Islamist groups in the Sahel is significantly hampered by the number of citizens killed by the military juntas ruling over them. In Mali and Burkina Faso, this has even been used by JNIM as leverage for recruitment.
africacenter.org/spo...
