Terrorism threat high in Africa and Afghanistan, rising in Europe: UN experts – National | 24CA News
The terrorist menace from al-Qaida, the Islamic State group and their associates stays excessive in battle zones in Africa and in Afghanistan – and menace ranges have risen in some areas together with Europe, U.N. consultants stated in a brand new report.
The panel of consultants stated within the 23-page report that the connection between Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and al-Qaida stays shut, and unnamed member states report that “the high concentration of terrorist groups” within the nation are undermining the safety state of affairs within the area.
The best menace inside Afghanistan nonetheless comes from the Islamic State “with its ability to project into the region and beyond,” the consultants stated within the report back to the U.N. Security Council protecting the interval till Dec. 16, 2023 which was circulated Wednesday. Regionally, they pointed to a succession of assaults in neighboring Iran and Pakistan and threats in Central Asian nations.
The panel stated, nevertheless, that whereas not one of the al-Qaida affiliated teams have recovered the potential to launch long-range operations, “they harbor global ambitions.” And it stated “covert and calibrated efforts to rebuild capability” have been reported.
The Islamic State group broke away from al-Qaida over a decade in the past and attracted supporters from around the globe. Despite its defeat in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria two years later. The panel stated the mixed IS energy within the two nations remains to be between 3,000 and 5,000 fighters. In Iraq, they’re finishing up “a low-intensity insurgency with covert terrorist cells” whereas in Syria assaults have intensified since November, the consultants stated.
The panel stated the three-month delay in naming the present IS chief, Abu Hafs al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi, following the demise in preventing of his little-known predecessor “is judged indicative of internal difficulties and security challenges”
Some unnamed U.N. member nations have assessed that critical stress from counter-terrorism operations in Syria and Iraq elevate the likelihood that the Islamic State might transfer its management and “center of gravity” to Africa or Afghanistan, with Africa extra possible, the consultants stated.
In West Africa and the Sahel, the panel stated, “violence and threat have escalated again” in battle zones, elevating issues amongst U.N. member nations. The consultants level to “a deficit in counterterrorism capabilities,” which Islamic State and al-Qaida affiliated teams are persevering with to use.
“The situation is becoming ever more complex with the conflation of ethnic and regional disputes with the agenda and operations of these groups,” they stated.
In east Africa, the consultants stated, the Somali authorities is continuous its navy offensive in opposition to al-Shabab, an al-Qaida affiliate, however they stated U.N. member nations assess that regardless of vital losses from air strikes and navy operations, “al-Shabab stays resilient. It has an estimated 7,000 to 12,000 fighters, and an estimated $100 million annual revenue, largely from unlawful taxation within the capital Mogadishu and southern Somalia, they stated.
The panel stated al-Qaida has improved its media productions which appeared aimed toward restoring the extremist group’s credibility, attracting recruits, and filling the void over its lack of ability to announce a brand new chief.
But that messaging modified after Hamas’ Oct. 7 assaults in southern Israel, the consultants stated.
The assault killed 1,200 individuals, largely civilians, and Hamas and different extremists took about 250 individuals hostage, in keeping with Israeli authorities. In Israel’s ongoing offensive in response in Gaza aimed toward destroying Hamas, greater than 27,000 individuals have been killed, in keeping with the territory’s well being ministry which doesn’t distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths.
The consultants stated Al-Qaida has targeted on “the sanctity” of the Al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest website in Islam which is in a compound in Jerusalem sacred to Jews and Muslims, with some communications stressing “an obligation for individuals to take action to the limits of their own ability.”
“Member States are concerned that it (al-Qaida) could exploit the situation to recover relevance and tap into popular dissent about the extent of civilian casualties, providing direction to those keen to act,” the panel stated, and so they “are concerned that the renewed narrative could inspire self-initiated attacks globally.”
Across Europe, the consultants stated, “formal terrorist threat levels have risen … following fatal attacks in late 2023 in France and Belgium, in addition to numerous non-lethal terrorist incidents and arrests in several European countries.”
© 2024 The Canadian Press
