“Its groups’ progressive links in Africa and beyond make it a growing global threat.”
The vast Sahel region, which stretches almost from coast to coast across Africa, It accounts for 19 percent of terrorist attacks worldwide. and for more than half of the world’s terrorism-related victims.
Around four million people are currently displaced in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and neighboring countries.
Responding to the threat
To address the crisis, Guterres urged a “Unified, coherent and consensual” regional responsemaintaining financial support for humanitarian response plans and a development strategy to address the root causes of terrorism.
In this regard, he encouraged intelligence sharing and financial monitoring through the UN Global Compact Against Terrorism, the UN counter-terrorism coordination mechanism and the counter-terrorism strategy of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
He further noted that humanitarian appeals for the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin remain underfunded. Less than a quarter of the $4.9 billion needed has been raised.
“Terrorists thrive where the social contract is broken,” he added, highlighting the need to fight poverty and invest in sustainable development.
Collaboration and synergy
Omar Alieu Touray, president of the ECOWAS Commission, warned that terrorism has spread beyond the Sahel and the Lake Chad basin and threatens all of West Africa.
He informed the Security Council that ECOWAS is accelerating the deployment of its reserve force, starting with 1,650 troops and increasing to 5,000 with regional and partner support.
He said that while partners have taken measures to combat terrorism, the proliferation of these initiatives has led to “fragmentation”, hampering cooperation. He stressed that coordination and cohesion must be a priority.
“No amount of money or equipment will help us overcome the terror if we do not collaborate and create synergy.”said Mr. Touray.
“Our current differences must not be exploited; they must be bridged,” he added.
‘Moral compass’
“We must reimagine ECOWAS not just as a regional bloc, but as a community of courage, the moral compass and stabilizing force of Africa.”said Julius Maada Bio, president of Sierra Leone – who also holds the presidency of the Security Council in November – and president of ECOWAS.
He continued to press for democratic trust, decisive action in the fight against extremism and regional security and coordination.
On that basis, he proposed a pact between ECOWAS, the UN and the African Union, a coordinated mechanism to ensure predictable funding and operations across the region.