Algeria mobilizes neighbors against terrorism in Africa through regional approach and diplomatic action

Ahmed Adel

Algerian diplomacy is moving at a rapid pace to mobilize support against the growing threat of terrorism in Africa, as Algeria recently acknowledged that the escalation of terrorist operations in a number of Sahel countries has become “a matter of concern and a threat to the collective security of Africa and international peace and security.”

In recent days, Algeria used its diplomatic weight, beginning on its own soil, and then moving to Niger and then Congo-Brazzaville, and before that Mauritania, where Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra flew to “warn and mobilize” African support to prevent the escalation of terrorism.

From local to regional

Algeria seeks to expand its approach to the war on terrorism from a local to a regional one, and it is also counting on embracing the African Center for the Study and Research on Terrorism (CAERT) and the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), and within the framework of its mandate as the African Union coordinator in the fight against terrorism.

In light of the expansion of terrorist attacks in Africa, the parallel Algerian diplomatic movement recently began with intensive meetings between Lamamra and AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Bankole Adeoye in the Algerian capital.

The meetings discussed in depth the latest security and political situation on the continent and reviewed the most important issues on the agenda of the African Union, according to a statement by the Algerian Foreign Ministry. The recent dynamism of Algerian diplomacy towards the African continent was clear in goals and milestones, which President Abdelmadjid Tebboune confirmed in a message to the AU president regarding “the growing phenomenon of terrorism on the African continent.”

This was revealed by Niger’s foreign minister, who said that President Tebboune “officially wrote to the President of the African Union to share with him his view regarding Algeria’s vision of what we consider in our country as the growing phenomenon of terrorism, with the number of its victims unfortunately rising in our neighborhood and across many regions of the African continent.”

Strengthening mechanisms

Tebboune called for the need to strengthen the mechanisms adopted by the African Union in the fight against terrorism “more than ever before to develop cooperation and combat the phenomenon of terrorism.”

In Niamey and Nouakchott, Lamamra discussed with Nigerien and Mauritanian officials “the challenges posed by the situation in the Sahel-Saharan region as a result of the expansion and severity of terrorist acts and ways to confront them through activating the frameworks and mechanisms created for this purpose under the umbrella of the African Union.”

Meanwhile, in Congo-Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lamamra carried a “concrete Algerian vision for the treatment of the growing phenomenon of terrorism in the African continent.”

Lamamra handed a message from Tebboune to the presidents of these two African countries, which included “concrete proposals” to combat terrorism in the Sahel and Sahara region, according to what the Algerian Foreign Ministry confirmed.

Tebboune’s message

According to the statement, Tebboune’s message “falls within the framework of Algeria’s exercise of its mandate as a coordinator to combat terrorism and violent extremism in Africa.”

The Foreign Ministry revealed the content of Algeria’s proposals, which it said “are related to the exacerbation of the terrorist threat in Africa, especially in the Sahel and Sahara region.”

According to the statement, the president’s message also included “concrete proposals that will stimulate the work of institutions and strengthen the mechanisms established by the African Union in the context of combating this phenomenon.”

The Sahel region has turned into a hotbed of a massive spread of terrorist organizations, such as al-Qaeda, ISIS and Boko Haram, which have moved from local organizations to transnational organizations.