After ISIS in Syria and Iraq, Africa is coveted by the extremists
Cairo – North-Press Agency
Muhammad Abu Zaid
The continent of Africa has become the focus of attention by the extremist groups and their supporters, after the fall of the Islamic State terrorist organization (ISIS) in both Syria and Iraq, as many of its elements have infiltrated into different African countries, especially after similar organizations in Africa pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after his declaration of the ‘caliphate’ in 2014.
According to the latest reports of Fatawa al-Takfiriya Observatory, and the Extremist Opinions affiliated with the Dar al-Ifta al Misriyyah, that the extremist groups have intensified their operations in Africa significantly.
According to the Egyptian Observatory, the operations that took place between January 18 and January 24, 2020 targeted Sudan, Somalia, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Nigeria.
Nigeria is witnessing a widespread activity by the Islamic State organization (ISIS), the latest of which was the storming of the town of ‘Askira’ by dozens of vehicles equipped with various firearms, resulted in three deaths.
On February 11, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack which targeted an Algerian military base, and had also claimed responsibility for the attempt to bomb a security base in Egypt, in addition to many confirmed facts of the organization's continued activities in Africa in particular.
Hence, two weeks ago, the Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called to hold an "extraordinary" African summit, devoted to discussing "the issue of terrorism on the continent independently and extensively.” The summit discussed the issue of establishing an African joint force to combat extremism.
Growing extremism
Munir Adib, an expert on the Islamic movements, extremist organizations, and international terrorism, said: “The continent of Africa is facing a significantly increasing terror, perhaps after the U.S. President Trump announced the fall ISIS on the 22nd of March, 2019, as the organization sought shelter for itself.”
Moreover, the organization chose Africa, "which is full of good things, for reasons that may be the extreme poverty that many African countries may witness, in addition to the weakness of the political systems of many countries within the continent, all of which provide the fertile environment for the growth and expansion of terrorist organizations."
According to Adib, "putting forward the necessity of establishing a joint African force is extremely important to counter this growing terrorism, whether in the Sahel and Sahara regions or the Horn of Africa region, or even the Sahara region, especially since these threats significantly affect security in these countries, starting with Somalia, and possibly other countries in the Horn of Africa, such as Mali, Nigeria, Burkina Faso and other African countries."
Security efforts
Regarding security efforts to combat extremism in Africa, Egyptian security expert, Major General Mohamed Abdel Wahed, said: "Western African countries in particular are under the threat of terrorism in a clear and significant way, and the active groups there are hindering all development efforts, with very serious repercussions for the African continent."
Many reports reveal a rise in the percentage of incidents carried out by extremist groups in Africa from 2010 to 2018 by about 300%, in addition to that there are 13 African countries that faced daily attacks in 2018, with the increase of ISIS attacks (West Africa) by 300% during last year.