Fear of intensified terrorism in Africa as continent fights Covid-19

Sharif Abdelzaher

Fears are growing that terrorist organizations active in Africa will step up their attacks, using the world’s preoccupation with fighting the coronavirus.

The African Union’s Commissioner for Peace and Security Ismail Shawqi revealed recently that African countries needed $150 million to fight the coronavirus.

Terrorist organizations, he said, use the virus outbreak to perpetrate dangerous crimes.

Shawqi warned that the coronavirus outbreak would have dangerous security ramifications for Africa, especially with terrorist organizations maintaining their attacks.

The terrorist Boko Haram movement has killed over 20,000 people and caused the displacement of over 2.9 million people since its emergence, according to the African Union’s Commission for Peace and Security.

Terrorist groups strive to cause economic losses to African countries and prove local security agencies incapable of maintaining security in the continent.

Using the coronavirus

The Islamic State group asked its affiliates around the world on March 19 to keep fighting.

It expected international security agencies to be defeated by the coronavirus.

A large number of ISIS affiliates had travelled to Africa, according to American security reports.

A noticeably large number of foreign fighters entered African countries in 2019 and joined extremist groups active in the continent, the reports said.

These fighters would work to establish new ISIS provinces in African countries like ISIS tried to do in Iraq and Syria, they added.