A new report released this week has revealed a surge in deaths from terror attacks in Africa.
At least 283 people died in 53 terrorist attacks on the continent between January 16-31, 2019, the African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT) said.
A total of 555 terrorism-related deaths were also recorded within the period, the Centre said in its bi-weekly “Africa Terrorism Bulletin”.
Out of the 555 terrorism-related deaths, 283 resulted directly from terrorist attacks whereas 272 people were killed during counter-terrorism operations by security forces.
Sahel region
The Sahel region recorded 37 out of 59 incidents of terrorist attacks with 77% of civilians and 54% of military deaths recorded, the Centre said in it’s Bulletin document.
The bulletin further revealed that 307 of the total terrorism-related deaths were members of terrorist groups representing 55%.
Security forces and civilian casualties were 140 and 108 representing 25% and 20% respectively.
The bulletin again said 56 persons were killed by Al-Shabaab—54 of which were military personnel and two civilians, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) killed 51 and Ansarul Islam 5 respectively—all being military personnel, whilst Boko Haram killed 8 civilians.
Out of the 59 attacks, 35 involved the use of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW).
18 attacks involved the use of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), while the mix of SALW and IED and kidnapping accounted for two and four respectively.
Al-Shabaab and Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) used IEDs more in their attacks than SALW. All attacks by Boko Haram and Ansarul Islam used SALW.
“There were separate 22 attacks, each targeting civilians and security forces. International organizations, mainly the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) suffered eight attacks in total whereas seven attacks were targeted at government institutions,” the bulletin said.
Countries affected most
Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Mali, and Somalia were the five countries most affected by the activities of the terror organizations during the period.
They were the same countries affected the most during the first two weeks of January 2019.
This indicates that during the month of January, the above mentioned countries emerged as the epicenters of terrorism on the Continent.
The Sahel region recorded total deaths of 253 out of 555 representing 46% of the terrorism-related deaths for the period.
Out of the 253 deaths, 94 were terrorists, 83 were civilians and 76 were security officials including the military.
The countries of the Sahel region recorded the highest number of civilian and security forces deaths in both the first two weeks and last two weeks of January—that’s Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, and Mali.
Neutralizing the terror groups
Al-Shabaab lost 107 of their members due to counterterrorism operations.
75 members of IS affiliates in Sinai, Egypt were killed in military operations.
Boko Haram, ISWAP, and JNIM, lost 6, 5 and 3 of their members to counter-terrorism operations respectively.
111 others killed by counter-terrorism belong to unidentified/ unaffiliated groups.
“Terrorism and Violent Extremism remain significant threats to international peace and security. Although no country is immune to these threats, Africa has been particularly susceptible.
Weak institutions, porous borders, inadequately trained or ill-equipped security forces, historical grievances and lack of economic opportunities have created conditions for terrorism and violent extremism to grow and fester in parts of the continent,” the study noted.
Resolving terror attacks
Authors of the study are calling for the need to secure the commitment of Africa’s political elite to defeat terrorism.
“The referent object of national security should be the individual citizenry and their local communities, the identification of their vulnerabilities, their protection, and their empowerment to acquire the required resilience that enables them to live in dignity,” the authors of the bulletin said.
“The pursuit of justice, participatory political policies, and the promotion of favorable socio-economic conditions that promote human development, human rights, and inclusive policies in local communities should be regarded as effective means of striking a balance between counter terrorisms and human rights,” it added.
Source: Africafeeds.com
