Morocco Calls For Scaling Up Aid To African States To Help Manage Terrorist Threats

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published March 31, 2021 | 03:05 PM

Morocco calls for increased assistance to African countries to help them respond to new terrorist threats, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita has said, adding that the region has become a target for the Islamic State terrorist organization (IS, banned in Russia)

RABAT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2021) Morocco calls for increased assistance to African countries to help them respond to new terrorist threats, Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita has said, adding that the region has become a target for the Islamic State terrorist organization (IS, banned in Russia).

"Africa has become a target and a spotlight for the Islamic State. The group is in the process of strengthening its presence in Africa by cooperating with other extremist groups and criminal networks," Bourita said during a Tuesday meeting that brought together top diplomats of the anti-IS international coalition's small group.

A growing number of terrorist groups pledge allegiance to the IS, the minister pointed out.

"A response to threats posed by the IS should primarily focus on the support of African countries and sub-regional organizations in terms of capacity building to ensure more sustainable results," Bourita added.

Morocco has engaged in efforts to enhance the region's capabilities by opening an office of the UN-affiliated counter-terrorism program in Africa, the minister noted.

He called for global coordination to deal with the terrorist issue and the implementation of results of the coalition's first meeting on the IS threats in West Africa, which took place this past November, through "tangible support" for the regional countries.

During the previous year, the number of terrorist attacks' victims across the Sahel region had soared by 60 percent compared to 2019 and reached 4,250 people, according to the Moroccan diplomat. From his perspective, it means that the IS seeks to mobilize more fighters and funds in other regions after the group lost control over its strongholds in the middle East.