The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, António Guterres, reported to the Security Council on Tuesday, that even though no region is immune to terrorism, the situation in Africa is especially concerning, underlining the United Nations (UN) support for countries striving to end this phenomenon.
In this regard, Guterres voiced deep concern about the development of terrorist groups in the Sahel region and other parts of Africa, stressing that desperation, poverty, hunger, lack of basic services, unemployment, and unconstitutional governmental changes create fertile ground for the rampant expansion of terrorist groups.
The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General added that fighters, funds, and weapons are increasingly flowing between regions and across the continent, as terrorist groups forge new alliances with organized crime networks and piracy groups.
Guterres affirmed that the United Nations (UN) support to Africa to end this phenomenon is part of the United Nations’ (UN) ongoing collaboration with the African Union and regional and sub-regional African organizations, underlining that the United Nations (UN) provides tailored assistance to African countries in several related areas.
For his part, the new Chairperson of the African Union (AU), Comorian President Azali Assoumani, noted that although terrorism has existed for ages “since the Libyan crisis in 2011, it has really exploded, and particularly in Africa.”
“In this way, progressively, terrorism took on greater and greater scope in Africa, from North to South, and from east to west. And the terrorist contagion continues, broadening in almost all regions of Africa,” added the Comorian president. In this context, Assoumani vowed to put forth “every effort” to ensure that the African Union’s (AU) flagship project “Silencing the Guns” becomes a reality.
