By: Azhar Azam
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared at "China Global Television Network (CGTN)":
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-04-26/Amid-COVID-19-Africa-sees-surge-in-terrorist-activities-Q0Dixe1ykE/index.html
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) on Tuesday lent a grim caveat – cautioning that the number of people facing acute food insecurity could soar from 135 million in 2019 to 265 million in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Africa with 73 million accounted for more than half of the starved population worldwide last year; it would likely be the most affected landmass in 2020 too.
As the deadly lung disease continues to cause tragic human losses and blow up social and economic order across the world, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on April 17 that Africa could see an its GDP to contract by 1.25% this year – the worst reading on record.
WFP and IMF predictions followed an African Union (AU) study that earlier this month projected some 20 million jobs were at risk in the continent as a result of the intensive economic blow by the Covid19. Even though Africa has generally escaped from the lethal ramifications of the pathogen, the impact on the employment would be staggering.
In addition to experiencing acute food insecurity and several socioeconomic vulnerabilities, the surge of terrorist activities in Africa – particularly the collaborative attacks by the offshoots of Islamic State and Al-Qaeda in the parts of Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin region and the Horn of Africa and expanding reach of Al-Shabaab in Somalia and East Africa – pose a significant threat to peace and security in the continent.
People of the impoverished region have paid a high cost of the towering terrorist activities. In February, the UN said amid a devastating rise of five-fold attacks that killed more than 4,000 civilians and military personnel in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger since 2016 – survivors were badly needing safety, food and water “everywhere.”
While the coronavirus pandemic drags the unabridged global attention, the Boko Haram has also stepped up attacks across various parts of West Africa including Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and restive northern part of Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.
Armed groups are visibly taking the advantage of the Covid-19 to expand their influence, spur violence and recruit members.
The viral respiratory illness has a silver lining for the terrorist organizations in Africa. The killing of three Chinese nationals this month in the mining area of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) retold that the extremists took the benefit of Congolese government deflected attention to the coronavirus.
Amid declining GDP, intense job losses, plunging oil prices, shutdown economic activities, stringent social distancing measures and rising terrorism – the 1.3 billion African people are sadistically exposed not only to the scourge of hunger and poverty but also at the risk of falling soft victims to the terrorist outfits.
The worsening circumstances provide a gold-plated opportunity to the radicals to exploit the grouses of the deprived people and incite them for an armed resistance against their governments.
The lack of access to services such as education, healthcare, justice and security delivers an ideal environment for the insurgents to intersect the marginalized groups and buttress their violent extremism.
Brutal and diabolical killing of at least 52 people in northern Mozambique on April 7 for not joining the ranks of the terrorists recapped that Africans are being lured and forced by the branches of the Islamic State.
If the lockdown prolongs for a longer time, there is growing risk that the terrorists might succeed in enrolling the underprivileged and infuriated youth bulges.
The beheading or shooting of the victims is viewed a stronger threat to the country’s 44 billion euro Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) program. It further unveiled the extremists’ strategy to disrupt the peace and prosperity in the Southern African state that is trying to elevate the living standards of its population by attracting foreign investments.
General Stephen Townsend, the commander of US Africa Command earlier this month warned that the terrorist were eying the pandemic as godsend to take advantage from distracted global attention.
“While we might like to pause our operations in Somalia because of the Coronavirus, the leaders of al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab and ISIS have announced that they see this crisis as an opportunity to further their terrorist agenda so we will continue to stand with and support our African partners," Townsend said.
Africa is surely seeing a spike in the coronavirus patients with more than 25,000 confirmed cases and over 1,200 deaths. But don’t forget that it only the forthright challenge Africa is facing; the climbing outbreak is accompanied by the growing terrorism.
On one side, the African people are bottled up by destitution, malnutrition, hunger and now the Covid19 and on the other; they are massacred by the terrorists for rejecting their proposal of armed resistance.
The increased terror attacks by the affiliates of Islamic State and Al-Qaeda describes that Africa is becoming the new epicenter of extremism. This strategic and geographical of the radicals shift is precarious to the pandemic-hit Africa.
Surely, extremism needs to be decimated by strengthening the regional forces but some joint, tangible efforts should also be wielded to culminate the longstanding grievances of the regional people – without which, the dream of sterilizing Africa from terrorism can’t be achieved.
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared at "China Global Television Network (CGTN)":
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-04-26/Amid-COVID-19-Africa-sees-surge-in-terrorist-activities-Q0Dixe1ykE/index.html
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) on Tuesday lent a grim caveat – cautioning that the number of people facing acute food insecurity could soar from 135 million in 2019 to 265 million in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Africa with 73 million accounted for more than half of the starved population worldwide last year; it would likely be the most affected landmass in 2020 too.
As the deadly lung disease continues to cause tragic human losses and blow up social and economic order across the world, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on April 17 that Africa could see an its GDP to contract by 1.25% this year – the worst reading on record.
WFP and IMF predictions followed an African Union (AU) study that earlier this month projected some 20 million jobs were at risk in the continent as a result of the intensive economic blow by the Covid19. Even though Africa has generally escaped from the lethal ramifications of the pathogen, the impact on the employment would be staggering.
In addition to experiencing acute food insecurity and several socioeconomic vulnerabilities, the surge of terrorist activities in Africa – particularly the collaborative attacks by the offshoots of Islamic State and Al-Qaeda in the parts of Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin region and the Horn of Africa and expanding reach of Al-Shabaab in Somalia and East Africa – pose a significant threat to peace and security in the continent.
People of the impoverished region have paid a high cost of the towering terrorist activities. In February, the UN said amid a devastating rise of five-fold attacks that killed more than 4,000 civilians and military personnel in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger since 2016 – survivors were badly needing safety, food and water “everywhere.”
While the coronavirus pandemic drags the unabridged global attention, the Boko Haram has also stepped up attacks across various parts of West Africa including Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and restive northern part of Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.
Armed groups are visibly taking the advantage of the Covid-19 to expand their influence, spur violence and recruit members.
The viral respiratory illness has a silver lining for the terrorist organizations in Africa. The killing of three Chinese nationals this month in the mining area of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) retold that the extremists took the benefit of Congolese government deflected attention to the coronavirus.
Amid declining GDP, intense job losses, plunging oil prices, shutdown economic activities, stringent social distancing measures and rising terrorism – the 1.3 billion African people are sadistically exposed not only to the scourge of hunger and poverty but also at the risk of falling soft victims to the terrorist outfits.
The worsening circumstances provide a gold-plated opportunity to the radicals to exploit the grouses of the deprived people and incite them for an armed resistance against their governments.
The lack of access to services such as education, healthcare, justice and security delivers an ideal environment for the insurgents to intersect the marginalized groups and buttress their violent extremism.
Brutal and diabolical killing of at least 52 people in northern Mozambique on April 7 for not joining the ranks of the terrorists recapped that Africans are being lured and forced by the branches of the Islamic State.
If the lockdown prolongs for a longer time, there is growing risk that the terrorists might succeed in enrolling the underprivileged and infuriated youth bulges.
The beheading or shooting of the victims is viewed a stronger threat to the country’s 44 billion euro Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) program. It further unveiled the extremists’ strategy to disrupt the peace and prosperity in the Southern African state that is trying to elevate the living standards of its population by attracting foreign investments.
General Stephen Townsend, the commander of US Africa Command earlier this month warned that the terrorist were eying the pandemic as godsend to take advantage from distracted global attention.
“While we might like to pause our operations in Somalia because of the Coronavirus, the leaders of al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab and ISIS have announced that they see this crisis as an opportunity to further their terrorist agenda so we will continue to stand with and support our African partners," Townsend said.
Africa is surely seeing a spike in the coronavirus patients with more than 25,000 confirmed cases and over 1,200 deaths. But don’t forget that it only the forthright challenge Africa is facing; the climbing outbreak is accompanied by the growing terrorism.
On one side, the African people are bottled up by destitution, malnutrition, hunger and now the Covid19 and on the other; they are massacred by the terrorists for rejecting their proposal of armed resistance.
The increased terror attacks by the affiliates of Islamic State and Al-Qaeda describes that Africa is becoming the new epicenter of extremism. This strategic and geographical of the radicals shift is precarious to the pandemic-hit Africa.
Surely, extremism needs to be decimated by strengthening the regional forces but some joint, tangible efforts should also be wielded to culminate the longstanding grievances of the regional people – without which, the dream of sterilizing Africa from terrorism can’t be achieved.