Sahel states urge global action against terrorism

Ahmed Adel

The Sahel-Saharan region has been the center of attention in of regional powers in the wake of growing terrorist operations. In this context, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on September 25 that West African and international powers are failing to tackle the spiraling threat of Islamist militancy in the Sahel region, which is spreading towards the Gulf of Guinea.

“Let’s be clear, we are losing ground in the face of violence,” Guterres told the United National General Assembly.

Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou called for a “global response” to the problems of land degradation that threaten the arid Sahel belt.

Issoufou called for providing the Sahel countries with adequate arms to fight what he called the evil groups in the region. He noted the security situation in Mali is “deteriorating, and the danger is growing”.

Issoufou urged the international and regional powers to come up with a peaceful political solution for the situation in Libya.

President Idriss Deby of Chad called on the international community to do its best to solve the situation in Libya.

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta told the UN General Assembly voiced his concern about the worsening situation in Libya.

President of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Ghazouani said his government had set up a strategy for combatting terrorism.

Researcher Amira Abdel Halim, an expert on African affairs, said the Sahel-Saharan region has recently become a key resource for terrorist groups.

“These terrorist groups should be stopped so terrorism wouldn’t expand and fuel the situation in the region,” she told THE REFERENCE.

“There is a number of factors that caused the expansion of terrorist groups in the Sahel region. The expanse desert area and networks of drug and human trafficking, in addition to the worsening situation in Libya since 2012,” she explained.

The researcher has called for more efforts from regional and international powers to develop the region economically and militarily.