Egypt warning against increasing ISIS activities in Africa

Ali Rajab

Senior officials from over 60 countries met in Rome on June 28 to discuss coordination to counter the escalating threat of ISIS, especially in Africa.

Counter-terrorism experts said developed countries should be prepared to spend at least a decade working to dismantle the terrorist group through the proper training of security forces.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry participated in the ministerial meeting to discuss joint efforts by the member states of the international coalition against ISIS in fighting the group.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Ambassador Ahmed Hafez, said Minister Shoukry made it clear in the meeting ISIS still poses a real threat, despite the success that has been achieved in terms of liberating large areas of land that was controlled by the terrorist organization in Iraq and Syria.

He stressed the need to strengthen the joint efforts of the member states of the coalition to eliminate the threat posed by the organization.

Hafez added that the Foreign Minister stressed Egypt’s full commitment to supporting the coalition’s efforts by adopting a comprehensive approach to combating terrorism.

This approach, he said, takes into account the intellectual dimension of the terrorist threat through reforming and modernizing religious discourse and dismantling the false discourse used by terrorist groups like ISIS in justifying their attacks.

He noted the role played by al-Azhar in refuting false interpretations of religious texts and interpreting them in line with sound Islamic teachings.

Shoukry also expressed Egypt’s concern about the increasing activity of ISIS-affiliated groups in some areas of the African continent.

Egypt, he said, is committed to strengthening cooperation with African countries in the fight against terrorism.