Africa Watch: Sahel region hard hit by increased terrorist acts

Rising incidents of terrorism in the Sahel region pose a major security challenge, especially after the many deaths and injuries the region has witnessed in the last one year.

The latest of such incidents occured on the night of May 31 to June 1, 2016, when twin terrorist attacks hit northern Mali region of Gao.

One of the attacks targeted a camp of the United Nations Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). This was the first night attack at a UN camp.

In another locality within the same region, the offices of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) was hit by light weapons.

Islamist militant group Al-Qaida in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the twin attacks which killed four people, including a Chinese peacekeeper.

Just a day after, in the Somali capital Mogadishu, Al-Shabaab raided Ambassador hotel which is frequented by government officials, leaving at least 15 people dead, 30 injured.

On the same day, at least 30 soldiers from Niger and two from Nigeria were killed in an attack carried out by Boko Haram in southeastern Niger, close to the border with Nigeria.

Is it possible to talk of coincidence?

SAHEL-VICTIM OF RISING TERRORISM

The three countries that were attacked are located in a region commonly referred to as the Sahel, which has seen an upsurge of terrorism.

From the Atlantic to the Red Sea, going through the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa, the region covers ten countries that include Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Eritrea and Somalia.

The region has seen a proliferation of terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab and AQIM, that have been carrying out attacks in different countries.

By end of November last year, at least 100 terrorist attacks had taken place in Africa with the majority in Sahel region.

The number was equivalent to one third of terrorist attacks that happened across the world in 2015.

In the second half of May this year, at least 20 people in Mali lost their lives due to terror attacks, including soldiers, UN peacekeepers and civilians working for the UN mission.

ENDING POVERTY KEY TO FIGHTING TERRORISM

Poverty has been blamed for the rising cases of terrorism in the Sahel region and in Africa at large.

A European Commission report released in April 2016 revealed that at least 20 percent of the population in Sahel is poor with 25 million living in extreme poverty.

Analysts say poverty-related criminal activities are on a growing trend in Africa, such as drug and human trafficking, abductions; more poor people have joined terrorist organizations.

What has become more worrying are the increased cases of extremism, a state of mind that lures and controls people, especially desperate youths.

In Arabic, the word Sahel means border. However, this border is collapsing under the weight of rising extremism, which was heightened after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in Libya and the resultant disappearance of a huge cache of weapons that could easily be accessed by terrorists.

The security situation in Sahel countries and recent terrorist attacks were at the center of discussions in Bamako between Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for West Africa and Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas.

On May 26, 2016, at the UN Security Council in New York, China's representative Wu Haitao urged the international community to actively promote cooperation in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel region.

"To end terrorism, socioeconomic development cannot be neglected," Wu said, adding that "countries in the region should leverage on the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals by adopting their own local development programs and strategies."

In Mali, the implementation of the National Peace and Reconciliation Agreement has stalled, something that is worrying the international community.

Due to rising incidents of terrorist attacks, ex-Malian Prime Minister Moussa Mara said recently there was need to adapt "a rigorous, determined and sustainable" counter-terrorism strategy.

"We must integrate intelligence, collaborate with the people, work with religious organizations, use technology as well as socio-cultural skills acquired from our communities," Mara proposed.

"It will be a long-term war," he added. Endit