Terrorism in Africa, a ‘growing global threat’

That’s according to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres who told the Security Council on Monday that the growth in terrorist groups was “not only a regional dramatic reality.”

“Progressive links of its groups in Africa and beyond make it a growing global threat.”

The vast Sahel region which stretches almost coast to coast across Africa, accounts for 19 per cent of terrorist attacks worldwide and for over half of global terrorism-related casualties.

Around four million people are now displaced across Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and neighbouring countries.

Responding to the threat

To address the crisis, Mr. Guterres urged a “unified, coherent and consensus-based” regional response, the maintenance of financial support for humanitarian response plans and a development strategy to address the root causes of terrorism.

Along those lines, he encouraged intelligence sharing and financial tracking through the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Compact, the UN’s coordination mechanism against terror, and the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) counter-terrorism strategy.

He further noted that humanitarian appeals for the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin remain severely underfunded — less than one quarter of the $4.9 billion required has been raised.

“Terrorists thrive where the social contract is broken,” he added, highlighting the need to fight poverty and invest in sustainable development.

Collaboration and synergy

Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, warned that terrorism has spread beyond the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin to threaten all of West Africa.

He informed the Security Council that ECOWAS is accelerating deployment of its standby force, starting with 1,650 personnel and scaling up to 5,000 with regional and partner support.

He said that while partners have taken action to combat terrorism, the proliferation of these initiatives has led to “fragmentation,” hindering cooperation. He stressed that coordination and cohesion must be a priority.

“No amount of money, no amount of equipment will help us overcome terror if we don’t collaborate and build synergy,” Mr. Touray said.

“Our current differences should not be exploited; they should be bridged,” he added.

‘Moral compass’

“We must re-imagine ECOWAS not just as a regional bloc, but as a community of courage, the moral compass and stabilising force of Africa,” said Julius Maada Bio, president of Sierra Leone – which also holds the Security Council presidency for November – and chair of ECOWAS.

He went on to push for democratic trust, decisive action in the fight against extremism and regional security and coordination.

On those grounds, he proposed an ECOWAS-UN-African Union compact – a coordinated mechanism to ensure predictable financing and operations across the region.