UCLA

In Cabo Delgado, the northernmost province of Mozambique, an insurgency has triggered a severe humanitarian crisis. As of today, over 700,000 people have been displaced and close to 4,000 have been killed. The culprit of this violence, a group known as al-Shabab, relies predominately on local frustrations that are the result of decades of political and economic marginalization to mobilize its army. The discovery of natural gas in 2010 exacerbated the already fragile environment in Cabo Delgado by highlighting the extreme poverty of those in the region. In 2018 al-Shabab pledged allegiance to ISIS, which contributed to the international response by providing a justification for foreign intervention. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the appropriateness of the current US military response and determine how America can most effectively assist its African partner.