Who we are

Africa has become the global epicentre of terrorism. Six of the ten countries most affected by terrorism are in sub-Saharan Africa. In Southern Africa, Islamic State affiliates are entrenched in northern Mozambique and eastern DRC, while in East Africa al-Shabaab remains a major threat despite years of sustained counter-terrorism pressure.

No country can defeat terrorism alone, and no border can contain it. Terrorist networks exploit porous borders, remote territories, weak state presence and gaps in regional cooperation to move fighters, weapons, money and propaganda from one jurisdiction to the next.

They do not respect sovereignty. They infiltrate communities, intimidate local populations, disrupt economic corridors, undermine public institutions and erode citizens’ trust in the State. They exploit poverty, marginalisation, grievances and governance gaps to recruit and radicalise the vulnerable, including children and women, and they manipulate community, religious and traditional leaders to lend themselves legitimacy.

The cost goes far beyond security. Livelihoods are destroyed, populations are displaced, investment retreats and the development corridors on which our region’s future depends are placed at risk. Where the State cannot protect its citizens, terrorists step forward as an alternative authority.

Our response must therefore be equally regional, coordinated and decisive. Intelligence-sharing, secure borders, the disruption of terrorist financing, community engagement and prevention must reinforce one another. Military pressure alone cannot defeat a threat that is sustained by recruitment, financing, propaganda and local vulnerability.

The question is no longer whether terrorism threatens our collective security. It is whether we will act together, with the urgency and resolve it demands, before it undermines our sovereignty, our stability and our shared development.