ECOWAS rises up in Nigeria to face Daesh, Boko Haram

Ahmed Adel

President Mohamed Bukhari, in Abuja, on Saturday (June 29th), inaugurated the 55th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the West African Group known as the ECOWAS, which aims to promote economic, political and security cooperation among the countries of the West.

During the summit, Bukhari called for joint action to address the security challenges in West Africa, particularly sectarian violence, land disputes and terrorist attacks, saying that the threats have implications for long-lived peaceful coexistence.

He said sectarian violence was curtailing regional integration efforts, calling for joint action to end threats to terrorist organizations in western Africa, which is in the interest of regional instability.

Since the announcement of the end of the organization of Daesh in Syria and Iraq, the leaders of the organization are trying to find a haven through which they can collect the remains and maintain the existence.

Most of the terrorist currents are in West Africa. Bukuram is found in Nigeria, while al-Qaeda is expanding under its branch of the Islam and Muslims Support Group in Mali. In addition, West Africa is home to the Tawhid wal Jihad group, and its ideology is subject to Salafi-Jihadist definitions, which permit violence to change power. In Mali, there is also the Ansar al-Din movement.

Money and natural resources are a major cause of the proliferation of terrorist organizations. West Africa is swamped by oil wells. The difference between the spread of terrorism in countries and its economic power is striking.

International zone

For his part, Nasser Mamoun Issa, a researcher at Cairo University, told the Reference that the West African region is full of wealth and then it is an area of ​​international strife and regional conflicts.

He stressed that the West African adhesion to the African Sahel region and the concentration of human presence in specific areas as well as the existence of large desert areas makes it an appropriate environment for camps and training grounds for terrorist groups.

The political researcher added that the lack of justice in the distribution of wealth and its products among the popular groups and minorities and the spread of ethnicities also created an environment for incubating terrorist groups, and contributed to the recruitment of thousands of young people. He noted that some policies must be adopted and dedicated to turn those endeavors to a counter-terrorism strategy.