Its executives UN dealing with the fight against terrorism expressed concern on Thursday about the deterioration of the security situation in West Africa linked to the consolidation of the jihadist organization Islamic State (IS) and organizations associated with it.
Despite progress in addressing the threat posed by the organization, IS “continues to pose a serious threat to international peace and security,” particularly in West Africa and the Sahel, areas “affected by the activity of Daesh and its affiliated organizations.” “, commented to the Security Council Vladimir Vrankov, deputy secretary general of the UN in charge of the fight against terrorism.
“The situation in this region has worsened in the period under review (i.e. the last six months) and is becoming increasingly complex, with local and regional national conflicts and the objectives and operations of these organizations,” he added.
Organizations close to IS “continue to act with more and more autonomy compared to the central structure of Daesh”, which raises concern about the emergence of “a large zone of instability from Mali to its borders Nigeria“, he emphasized, referring to the most recent report signed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and published this week.
The report refers to IS’s “internal divisions”, which it says have been highlighted by the late announcement of the death of its former leader Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurasi, and assesses the possibility of a transfer of “the center of gravity of the central structure” of IS except Iraq and Syria.
The new leader of the jihadist organization, Abu Hafs al-Hashimi al-Qurasi, could settle “in Afghanistan” or even “in Africa”.
Daesh and its offshoots are “increasingly taking root in some parts of the African continent (…) taking advantage of the political instability and expanding their sphere of influence, their operations and the territories they control in the Sahel”, raising concern “for the coastal areas of the west Africa,” said Natalia German, executive director of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee.
The African continent “now accounts for almost half of the world’s terrorist attacks, with the central Sahel accounting for around 25%” of all such actions, added Ms German, a career Moldovan diplomat and former foreign minister.
Source: RES-MPE
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