Addressing terrorism threats around the globe: what Africa could learn from some of the recent terrorist attacks around the world

Abstract

This policy brief examines the recent terrorist attacks in Africa and what Africa should do to prevent them. It equally examines global counter-terrorism measures and it implications for Africa. However, the post 1990 era has witnessed an unprecedented wave of terrorist attacks that have resulted in heavy loss of lives and destruction of properties. Many of these attacks have been claimed or attributed to Islamic groups. While Islam had been perceived as a religion that preaches peace and peaceful co-existence with other religions, the mere fact that the vast majority of terrorist attacks have been carried out by Islamic groups paints a different picture. The downing of the St Petersburg bow plane, the 13/11/15 Paris attacks and the recent Mali and Burkina Faso hotel attacks suggest a new form of terrorist assault which the world will have to learn to deal with. Of critical importance is, what could Africa learn from these attacks and how could such attacks be prevented on the continent? Though Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaeda the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) have been a constant menace to the security of several countries on the continent, the scale of the Egypt, Bamako and Ouagadougou attacks was unexpected. The policy brief concludes with some recommendations for African countries and multilateral organisations on strategies through which to address the phenomenon.