Leaders and experts at a U.N. meeting pointed to Africa as a global epicenter of terrorism with thousands of attacks and deaths each year.
The U.N. Global Counterterrorism Coordination Compact – which brings together dozens of U.N.-affiliated organizations and member nations – was holding a two-day meeting until Friday to address the rising violence and spread of terrorist networks in Africa.
Each day, an average of eight terror attacks and 44 terrorism-related deaths occur on the continent, about twice the rate from 2017 to 2021, according to the African Union's African Center on the Study and Research on Terrorism based in Algiers, Algeria.
"While the alarming expansion of terrorism in Africa poses multitudes of challenges to the peace and security landscape, it also provides us with opportunities to harness our collective efforts towards working decisively to end violent conflicts on the continent and address their root causes," said Idriss Mounir Lallali, the center's acting director.
Last year alone, Africa registered more than 3,000 terrorist incidents resulting in over 16,000 deaths, Lallali told a meeting of counterterrorism experts, government officials and others in New York. Some 7,000 civilians and 4,000 security and military personnel were killed, he said, making for a year-on-year increase of 127% and 191% in deaths, respectively.
International collaboration is the answer
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said that groups such as Islamic State, al-Qaida and others have quickly made Africa a major threat to peace, dialogue, development, human rights and collaboration.
"Terrorism represents the polar opposite of these ideals. No one is immune from this global threat. Today’s meeting focuses on a clear and present danger to a continent — but also to our world," said Guterres, pointing to threats in Somalia, Congo, Mozambique and across the Sahel region.
"In just a few short years, Africa has become a global epicenter of terrorism," he said. "This growing inferno is engulfing millions of Africans. This includes women and girls, who are deeply vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence."
Guterres said that "community by community, terrorist groups are extending their reach, growing their continental networks," with more fighters, funding and weapons as they forge ties with transnational organized crime groups and spread "fear, misery and hateful ideologies" through cyberspace.
"In every case, civilians are paying the highest price. But in the end, all of humanity pays. We need to fight this inferno now, before it spins out of control," he said.
Nonetheless, he pointed to some "positive examples" of efforts among nations and organizations to stamp out terrorism such as the Lake Chad Basin’s multinational task force to counter Boko Haram and the A.U.’s transition mission in Somalia. Another sign of important progress, he said, is the U.N. Security Council's unanimous support for financing A.U.-led peace support operations.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
