Mozambique launched the National Centre for the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism and Violent Extremism in November 2025, aiming to unify a fragmented response to an Islamic State-linked insurgency that has killed more than 6,700 people since 2016. The center, led by a military officer, can coordinate research, intelligence, operations, risk analysis, community programs, and efforts to disrupt terrorist financing. However, critics warn that its military-dominated structure may replicate the very turf wars—between police and army units—that hampered earlier operations. The center’s overly militaristic approach, lack of a field presence in Cabo Delgado, funding and technology constraints, and limited engagement with civil society further constrain its reach. Analysts argue that without addressing root causes like youth unemployment, inequality, and exclusion from the benefits of natural-resource wealth, and without genuine civilian oversight, the center risks becoming another underfunded layer in a security response that has so far failed to defeat the insurgency.