Escalating terrorism increases migration rates from the African coast

Ahmed Murad (Cairo)

The Sahel region of Africa is witnessing a significant increase in migration and displacement rates due to the increasing activities of terrorist groups, especially in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, making the region witness one of the largest migration and displacement movements in the world.
Ambassador Souad Shalabi, an expert in African affairs and a member of the COMESA Committee of Elders, explained that the increase in migration and displacement movements from the Sahel countries is closely linked to the growing activities of dozens of terrorist groups spread across the region, as violent practices push people to migrate to northern countries and then to Europe, through legal or illegal means.
The expert in African affairs said in a statement to Al-Ittihad: The African continent in general is the most affected by terrorist activities, as there are about 64 terrorist groups active in Africa, according to UN and international estimates, and the most dangerous of these groups are spread in the Sahel region, as some estimates indicate that it contains about 43% of deaths resulting from terrorist operations worldwide.
Shalabi added that the African Sahel region is witnessing one of the largest migration and displacement operations in the world, after some terrorist groups succeeded in occupying large areas of the region’s lands, and took control of the resources, property and wealth of the population, who found no escape but to migrate to internal areas, or emigrate abroad.
A member of the COMESA Committee of Elders stated that the increase in terrorist operations in the African Sahel region makes it one of the most prominent hotbeds of violence, and contributes to the exacerbation of humanitarian, economic, security and political crises. These crises then push hundreds of thousands to risk their lives on illegal immigration journeys in search of safe ways of life and decent living.
In turn, the expert in African affairs, Rami Zahdi, explained that the majority of terrorist groups spread in the African Sahel region practice widespread terror against local communities, whether through killing, kidnapping, or looting of resources and property, which forces residents to migrate and leave.
Zahdi told Al-Ittihad that extremist group fighters aim to terrorize residents of the border areas between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, and carry out organized operations to kidnap civilians and seize their property and lands, thus forcing residents of these areas to migrate to other areas.
The expert in African affairs stressed the need for concerted efforts by international and regional labor organizations to support and strengthen the capabilities of African countries in general and the Sahel countries in particular to confront and eliminate terrorist groups, especially since the majority of countries in the world, including Europe and America, are affected in one way or another by the repercussions of terrorist activities in Africa.