In fighting terrorism, states in south-west West Africa must pay attention to their shores

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When “Al-Shabaab in Mozambique” emerged in Mozambique in 2017, it had become the southernmost active jihadi group in Africa. Interestingly, it had established itself on the northern coast among fishing communities and exploited the economic neglect of the people to its advantage. These were Muslim communities and Muslim youths have been recruited to unleash terror in Cabo Delgado.

With the rise and subsequent spread of violent extremism in West Africa, littoral states have become particularly vigilant in border regions in the Savannah and Sahel zones. Many states have implemented various counterterrorism measures within their territories to tackle terrorism but regardless, coastal states, especially those on the coast of West Africa must pay extra attention to their shores. Like in Mozambique and elsewhere, extremists have always taken advantage of local Muslim communities to create disaffection for central authorities. Deceptive teachings mixed with socio-economic propaganda have often been used to get members of these communities on their side. Sierra Leone, Guinea, Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau have majority Muslim populations that have lived in peace with the minority Christians for decades. In the meantime, none of these states has recorded jihadi attacks on its soil, even though Senegal and Guinea share direct boundaries with Mali.

Experts are, however, concerned about the near “inevitability” of violent extremism spreading to these states as Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) get more aggressive with territorial expansion. Interestingly, it appears terror groups may rather infiltrate Muslim communities on the coast and likely take states by surprise. With the depletion of fish resources along the coasts and other problems, the socio-economic well-being of the communities is adversely affected. The seasonal bumper catch has become rare and pollution of coastal areas is further frustrating fishing communities. Recently, what is suspected to be chemical pollution on the Guinean coast has caused some skin diseases among fishermen. These and other hardships have already created disaffection for governments in the region—terror groups tend to like such conditions, especially as Muslim populations are involved. A fertile ground for indoctrination and propaganda is created.

Mozambique provides an example of how fisher folks could be radicalised. Governments in the sub-region must therefore pay attention to these communities and address socio-economic challenges while they keep an eye on their borders to check the “contiguous” spread of extremism into their territories. Education should be prioritised.

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