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Large parts of the Sahel region could fall under the “effective control” of jihadist groups, a senior counter-terrorism official has warned.
The United Nations’ top counter-terrorism official has warned the Security Council that large swathes of territory from Mali to northern Nigeria could fall under the control of the Islamic State and its affiliates.
Vladimir Voronkov, director of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office, said on Thursday that the jihadist group and its offshoots have expanded their activities to several parts of Africa as well as to Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
A release from the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office said that despite ongoing counter-terrorism efforts, terrorist groups affiliated with the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) “are expanding their scope of operations” and demonstrating “resilience and adaptability.”
If the armed group extends its influence into northern West Africa and the Sahel, “large tracts of territory from northern Nigeria to Mali could fall under their effective control,” Voronkov said.
The diplomat added that the Islamic State affiliate had also stepped up its activities in northern Mozambique and in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, leading to a “dramatic increase” in terror attacks and civilian deaths.
Voronkov, who has headed the UN Counter-Terrorism Office since 2017, said the threat level in Europe had increased due to the activities of Islamic State Khorasan, the Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan.
IS is an extremist Islamic force that originated in Iraq. After growing in power in 2014, it came to the fore internationally and took advantage of the unstable domestic security situation in Iraq and the turmoil in neighboring Syria to spread to Africa.
In Mali, Tuareg separatist rebels and al-Qaeda-linked fighters reportedly killed dozens of local soldiers and members of Russia’s Wagner Group private military company (PMC) in an ambush. Ukraine’s role in aiding terrorists in Africa has also come under question in recent weeks.
Andrei Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence, said: “The rebels have obtained all the necessary information they need.”
In response, Mali and neighboring Niger condemned Ukraine and severed diplomatic relations with Kiev. The two African countries also reportedly asked the UN Security Council to investigate whether Ukraine provided intelligence to Tuareg rebels. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has since denied any involvement in the incident.
The Wagner Group, which has also been involved in Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, is believed to have been involved in recent clashes between Malian troops and Tuareg rebels near the Algerian border and has been providing support to government forces.
（RT.com）
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