Shaaban Bilal (Cairo)
Senior UN officials in the field of counter-terrorism expressed their concern about the deterioration of security in West Africa due to the consolidation of the presence of the terrorist organization ISIS.
Despite the progress made in combating the threat it poses, ISIS still represents a serious threat to international peace and security, especially in West Africa and the Sahel, which are the two regions most affected by the activities of the organization and its affiliated groups, according to UN Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov to the UN Security Council.
He pointed out that the situation in these two regions has deteriorated over the past six months, and has become more and more complex, with local and regional ethnic conflicts.
He added, “ISIS-affiliated groups continue to operate with greater independence from ISIS's central structure, which raises fears of the emergence of a wide area of instability, from Mali to the borders of Nigeria,” referring to the latest report by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued this week.
Experts and analysts warned of the effects of instability and political unrest on the increasing spread of terrorism in the Sahel and Sahara region.
The researcher in African affairs, Dr. Nermin Tawfiq, said that Niger is located in the West African region, and it is known that terrorist groups are active in that region, whether affiliated with “Al-Qaeda” or “ISIS,” and there is a struggle between these movements for influence and control over areas in countries. West Africa.
Tawfiq explained to Al-Ittihad that the political unrest that the West African region has witnessed since 2020 has caused instability in the scene, which terrorist movements are exploiting for further spread, especially in light of the withdrawal of UN forces and the counter-terrorism mission from the region.
She added that there are steps taken by West African countries, including the alliance that was signed between Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso to protect the security of the three countries, which is a positive step even if it cannot completely eliminate terrorism. We may also witness an expansion of the Sahel Alliance and the joining of new countries from West Africa.
In the same context, researcher on African affairs, Muhammad Turshin, considered that the security weakness of the Sahel countries, the absence of successful partnerships with the West, and the absence of an economic development approach to save the region from poverty, misery, and lack of basic services, are factors that serve terrorism and help the spread of ISIS and Al-Qaeda.
Turshin said in a statement to Al-Ittihad that there are serious impacts on the security and stability of the African continent, not just Niger, as a result of political and security unrest, expecting terrorist movements to expand to neighboring countries in West Africa.
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