ISIS and other extremist groups expanding in West Africa and Sahel, UN official warns

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger among hardest hit countries in region, says senior Russian diplomat

Ghanaian special forces soldiers take part in US-led counter-terrorism training in Jacqueville, Ivory Coast. AP

A senior UN official warned on Thursday that terrorist groups such as ISIS continue to expand in West Africa and the Sahel, undermining regional stability.

“The terrorism landscape in West Africa and the Sahel remains challenging and complex,” Vladimir Voronkov, head of the UN office of counter-terrorism, told the Security Council.

He added that two ISIS affiliates, Islamic State West Africa Province and Islamic State in the Greater Sahel, have not only expanded but also consolidated their operational areas.

Mr Voronkov – also Russia's permanent representative to international organisations in Vienna – warned that if these groups manage to extend their influence into northern states, a vast territory from Mali to northern Nigeria could fall under their control.

For more than a decade, terrorist activity and violence have been expanding in West Africa and the Sahel, with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger the most seriously affected.

In March, the three countries' military-led governments announced the formation of a joint antiterrorism force aimed at countering growing insurgencies linked to Al Qaeda and ISIS.

There has also been an increase in the operational activities of ISIS affiliates in northern Mozambique and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where a significant rise in terrorist attacks has resulted in high civilian casualties.

Mr Voronkov also noted that the ISIS affiliate in Somalia has grown stronger, posing an increasing threat to the Horn of Africa region.

Sierra Leone, which holds the presidency of the Security Council this month, said “this new epicentre” of terrorism accounts for almost half of terror attacks globally.

“The magnitude and complexity of the problem are alarming and require concerted action,” said Sierra Leone's envoy to the UN, Michael Imran Kanu.

He noted the importance of combating money laundering and other strategies to block resources being funnelled towards terrorist purposes.

Algeria’s representative called on the UN to allow the African Union to conduct operations to combat terrorism and to allocate “sustainable predictable and sufficient funding” to the bloc to achieve this.

Elsewhere, Mr Voronkov warned of a resurgence of ISIS in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Syria.

“Sustained counter-terrorism efforts will be required to prevent [ISIS] from building upon these gains,” he said.

Mr Voronkov said further efforts will be required to address the dire security, humanitarian and human rights situation in camps and other detention facilities in north-eastern Syria.

“The Secretary General continues to call for member states with nationals stranded in these camps to scale up their efforts to facilitate the safe, voluntary and dignified repatriation of their citizens,” he said.