Not a day passes without the news agencies informing us of yet more bloodshed and destruction caused by the extremist organisations now active in wide swathes of West Africa. No country in the sub-region seems safe from the terrifying presence of these armed groups – which seem to be increasing in number and strength by the day.
Even in Nigeria which has the most sophisticated security assembly in West Africa, the constant threat of groups like Boko Haram and more recently Al-Qaeda is never far from public consciousness and a potent election issue.
The reach of terrorist organisation like Islamic State and Al-Qaeda in their various local manifestations has been spreading from the Sahel to West Africa to Central Africa to East Africa and as far south as Mozambique.
The UN says “Sub-Saharan Africa has become the new global epicentre of violent extremism with 48% of global terrorism deaths in 2021. This threatens to reverse hard-won development gains for…
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