UN Chief Warns of Expanding Terror Networks, Mass Displacement in West Africa, the Sahel
UN Chief Warns of Expanding Terror Networks, Mass Displacement in West Africa, the Sahel
UN Chief Warns of Expanding Terror Networks, Mass Displacement in West Africa, the Sahel
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has raised alarm over the rapid expansion of terrorist networks, worsening displacement, and collapsing essential services across West Africa and the Sahel—warning that the crisis now poses a global threat.
Addressing the UN Security Council, Guterres said the rise of violent extremist groups was “not only a regional dramatic reality,” stressing that growing links between terror organisations in Africa and beyond have transformed the issue into an international security concern.
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The Sahel, a vast belt stretching across the African continent, now accounts for 19% of global terrorist attacks and more than half of all terrorism-related deaths worldwide. An estimated four million people have been displaced across Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and neighbouring countries.
Guterres called for a unified, consensus-driven regional strategy to confront the crisis, urging sustained financial support for humanitarian operations and long-term development plans to address the root causes of terrorism. He also encouraged stronger intelligence sharing and financial tracking through the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Compact and ECOWAS’ counter-terrorism framework.
Despite the escalating emergency, Guterres noted that humanitarian appeals for the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin remain severely underfunded, with less than one-quarter of the required $4.9 billion raised so far.
“Terrorists thrive where the social contract is broken,” he warned, emphasising the need to reduce poverty, strengthen governance, and invest in sustainable development.
ECOWAS Raises Alarm
Omar Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, told the Council that terrorism has spread beyond the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, threatening the entire West African region. He announced that ECOWAS is accelerating the deployment of its regional standby force, beginning with 1,650 personnel, with plans to scale up to 5,000 troops with partner support.
Touray cautioned that multiple parallel counter-terrorism initiatives have created “fragmentation,” weakening cooperation. “No amount of money, no amount of equipment will help us overcome terror if we don’t collaborate and build synergy,” he said.
A Call for Courage and Unity
Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio—who chairs the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Governments and holds the UN Security Council presidency for November—urged the region to rethink its approach.
“We must re-imagine ECOWAS not just as a regional bloc, but as a community of courage, the moral compass and stabilising force of Africa,” Bio said, calling for renewed democratic trust and decisive action against violent extremism.
UN Chief Warns of Expanding Terror Networks, Mass Displacement in West Africa, the Sahel
