In light of world’s preoccupation with coronavirus, terrorist groups growing in Africa

Muhammad Yosry

Amid global preoccupation with efforts to cope with the outbreak of coronavirus, the operations of terrorist groups in Africa have increased significantly during the last third of March, despite the spread of the deadly virus in a number of African countries that have taken exceptional measures, including a complete isolation of cities, and imposition of curfews, especially countries where these groups operate.

In the heart of Africa, factions loyal to al-Qaeda and ISIS are active. Many hotspots hit by the deadly virus have emerged.

Niger has declared health isolation in the capital, Niamey, the release of 1540 detainees. Burkina Faso announced more than 30 injuries, and the number of injured has increased with the virus in Guinea, and this led to the declaration of a state of emergency across the country.

The Mozambique authorities began taking precautionary measures to prevent the virus from turning into a pandemic, after the announcement of the first case of infection, on the nineteenth of March 2020, which contradicts previous expectations, that the heart of Africa is immune to the deadly virus.

International reports said that Africa will likely see an increase in the number of new cases of coronavirus in the coming weeks because of the possibility of not monitoring some of them, which also prompted Chad to close schools.

Bokoharam

Although African countries are preoccupied with developing preemptive measures to counter the emerging coronavirus, the most affected countries in the terrorist attacks during the last third of March 2020 were Chad, which lost 92 soldiers and 47 others were injured in attacks by the terrorist group Bokoharam on March 24, 2020.

The Chadian President, Idriss Deby, said that this is the first time that he has witnessed such damage in his entire military career.

ISIS of Mozambique

The terrorist organization ISIS announced control over its media platforms in the Kisanga region in Mozambique, and published pictures of masked elements wearing camouflaged uniforms in front of the police leadership and vital buildings in the area, as well as pictures of a number of soldiers and weapons used in the terrorist attack.

The terrorist organization, through its Amaq agency, claimed that a number of soldiers were killed in an attack in northern Mozambique, on oil company sites, in the town of Musembo da Praia, on March 23, 2020.

It said that the attack resulted in the death and injury of dozens of army soldiers and officers.

The agency said that military sources have informed Amaq that ISIS fighters attacked five army and police sites in the town and added that a large number of weapons and ammunition had been seized.

ISIS claimed responsibility for a series of attacks recently, in the province of Cabo Delgado, in the far north of the country, where gas development projects exist, after announcing one of the largest gas discoveries, within ten years, off its coast.