UThe United Nations (UN) has identified Africa as the region most severely affected by the continuing threat posed by the Islamic State terrorist group, warning that extremist networks remain highly active despite years of international military pressure.
Speaking before the UN Security Council on Wednesday during a briefing on the activities of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), senior counter-terrorism officials said the organisation had evolved into a decentralised network capable of sustaining operations across several regions.
Presenting the Secretary-General’s 23rd report on ISIL and the UN’s support for member states, Oguljeren Niyazberdiyeva, Chief of the Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism, said Africa was carrying the greatest burden of the terrorist threat.
The extremist organisation, also known as Da’esh or Islamic State, remains particularly active across the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin and parts of Central Africa, she said.
According to Niyazberdiyeva, the Islamic State West Africa Province has emerged as the group’s most active affiliate anywhere in the world.
“In spite of international efforts, Da’esh continues to pose a serious threat to international peace and security,” she said.
She acknowledged that sustained military operations had significantly disrupted the group’s senior leadership and reduced its ability to coordinate attacks from a central command structure.
However, she warned that the organisation had responded by reorganising into smaller, flexible networks driven by a shared extremist ideology.
“While sustained counter-terrorism operations have disrupted Da’esh’s senior leadership, the group has continued to adapt,” she said.
Niyazberdiyeva also warned that ISIL affiliates were increasingly taking advantage of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, drones, encrypted communication platforms and virtual assets.
She said these tools were being deployed to recruit followers, raise funds, coordinate operations and expand terrorist activities across borders.
The UN official further noted that extremist groups continued to thrive in environments marked by armed conflict, poor governance, political instability, poverty and fragile security institutions.
She urged countries to strengthen international cooperation and adopt practical measures to prevent the terrorist organisation and its offshoots from rebuilding their operational strength.
During the Security Council debate, several member states called for increased international backing for African nations confronting terrorism.
Somalia’s representative stressed that global counter-terrorism efforts should reinforce the capacity of African countries most affected by extremist violence while promoting national ownership of security programmes.
Jocelyne Lukundula, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also appealed for greater international support.
“Without constant vigilance and international cooperation, no region will be spared in the long-term,” she warned.
Liberia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Lewis Brown, said sub-Saharan Africa now accounted for more than half of terrorism-related deaths worldwide.
He cautioned that extremist groups operating in the Sahel had ambitions beyond destabilising governments.
“They seek to replace it,” Brown said.
He also warned that terrorist organisations were gradually extending their operations towards the coastal countries of West Africa.
“A threat that adapts faster than our response will inevitably expand to consume all of us,” Brown warned.
Brown advocated stronger intelligence sharing at border areas, enhanced operational capabilities and more effective subregional security collaboration.
Security Council members also highlighted the growing risks posed by foreign terrorist fighters, online radicalisation, organised crime and the rapid advancement of technologies that continue to outpace existing counter-terrorism measures.
The council concluded that defeating terrorism would require a comprehensive approach combining military, political, economic and social interventions designed to address the specific realities of affected communities.
