UN counter terrorism envoy says Da’esh, affiliates a ‘global, evolving’ threat

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau

UNITED NATIONS, 10^th August. UN counter-terrorism chief Vladimir Voronkov on Tuesday in a joint briefing to the members of the Security Council confirmed that the threat posed by Da’esh terrorist fighters and their affiliates remains “global and evolving”.

“Da’esh and its affiliates continue to exploit conflict dynamics, governance fragilities and inequality to incite, plan and organize terrorist attacks,” Voronkov stated as he presented Secretary-General’s fifteenth report.

They also exploit pandemic restrictions, misuse digital spaces to recruit sympathizers and have, he said

He noted Da’esh expansion across Iraq, Syria and through areas of Africa that until had been largely spared from attacks, Mr. Voronkov attributed their success in part to a decentralized structure focused around a “general directorate of provinces” and associated “offices”.

He stressed these operate in both Iraq and Syria, as well as outside the core conflict zone notably in Afghanistan, Somalia and the Lake Chad Basin.

Mr. Voronkov said that to better understand and monitor, include global and regional cooperation, are vital to counter the threat.

He said that the border between Iraq and Syria remains highly vulnerable, with10,000 fighters operating in the area.

In April, the group launched a global campaign to avenge senior leaders killed in counter-terrorism operations.

The number of attacks claimed or attributed to the local Da’esh affiliate has decreased in Afghanistan, since the Taliban assumed control last year, its presence has expanded into the north-east and east of the country.

In Europe, Da’esh has called on sympathizers to carry out attacks by exploiting the easing of pandemic restrictions and the conflict in Ukraine.

In Africa, the senior UN official described the expansion of Da’esh across the Central, Southern and Western reaches of the continent.

He reiterated that in Uganda, one affiliate widened its operations into the DRC while another being knocked out by military action in 2021 intensified small-scale attacks in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province.

The expansion has affected littoral countries in the Gulf of Guinea, which had been spared from violence.

Mr. Voronkov said Da’esh leaders manage between $25 to $50 million in assets, less than 3 years ago in  terms of financing.

The diversity of both licit and illicit sources underscores the importance of sustained efforts to cut terrorism funding, he said.

He welcomed repatriations by Iraq, Tajikistan and France, he expressed concern that the limited progress achieved so far in repatriating foreign terrorist fighters and their family members is “far overshadowed by the number of individuals still facing a precarious and deteriorating situation”.

Over thousands of individuals – including 27,000 children from Iraq and some 60 other countries remain subject to enormous security challenges and humanitarian hardship.

He reiterated the Secretary-General’s call for Member States to boost their efforts in facilitating the safe, voluntary and dignified repatriation of all individuals who remain in camps and other facilities.

Weixiong Chen, Acting Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate said that “Terrorism does not exist in a vacuum,” which was established in 2001 after 11 September terrorist attacks in the United States.

He described gains that the Executive Directorate was able to resume its on-site assessment visits after two years of virtual and hybrid formats brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

His team issued a report synthesized its extensive consultations with African civil society groups on trends related to ISIL in Africa, a study on the links between counter-terrorism frameworks and international humanitarian law.

He called for a comprehensive, coordinated “All of UN” approach tailored by age and gender, and human rights compliant as the only way to push back against a global terrorist threat like Da’esh, in his closing remarks.