Central and West Africa the New Terror Triangle: Terrorism, Organized Crime, and the Failure of States
by the Center for Arab Progress
Translated from Arabic by the Center for Arab Progress
Last year witnessed the collapse of a hasty organization in Syria and Iraq and the decline of areas controlled by al-Qaeda and its pro-government groups. After a looming loss of Mosul and Raqqa, and with it the oil wells that were the largest source of the budget, its presence declined to some besieged and desert areas. As well as the confiscation of the assets of the other factions that existed in its regions. The decline in al-Qaeda’s influence led to the loss of most of the funding sources, which relied on the looting of public utilities and the trade of hydrocarbons across the border with Turkey and the imposition of royalties on them.
This economic tension in the Arab region of the two largest extremist organizations in the region prompted them to search for a new base and new sources of funding. These assumptions were reinforced by several reports about the beginning of the trend of many jihadist elements who fled from Syria and Iraq to Central and West Africa {1}.
Typical Entrance: Disintegration and State Fragility
After the formal independence of the countries of the West and Central Africa from the colonial countries, these countries could not achieve political stability. Furthermore, the corruption and institutional weakness are still prevalent in most sectors and levels of government and community. Many of these countries have regressed to countries of poverty that lack growth and security such as Niger and Guinea. The economic and security situation in these countries is fragile politically and tribally, some of which have a long history of civil wars, which led to the spread of rebel groups and militias to the regimes. These groups were able to control regions and territories that were based on political or which has strengthened societal divisions and the depth of ethnic and religious conflicts. Terrorism and transnational organized crime have become the new added feature of the region, such as Guinea-Bissau, which is now known as the “drug state”. {2} The French intervention in Mali has become a catalyst for the Islamic organizations to gain more supporters in their ranks. Playing patriotism and confronting foreigners is added today to historical religious, tribal and ethnic grievances, which together formed a model environment for the proliferation of terrorist organizations and organized crime syndicates.
Ready Incubators
According to various sources, the cross-border terrorism in Africa emerged in practice after the attacks of 11 September 2001, with the emergence of a grandfather of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which were concentrated in Algeria. They began to gain positions in northern Mali in 2003 {3}, through relations with the impoverished and marginalized population. Where they were providing protection and support to traditional smuggling groups. Therefore, there has been a marked increase in the number of terrorist attacks and many new groups in West Africa.
In 2006, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Jihad (GSPC) sponsored al-Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden {4}. They changed its name the following year to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, one of the largest Salafist jihadist groups in Africa. They sought control of the border areas and the spread in a number of countries in the Sahel. Their activities included the kidnapping and killing of Western tourists and aid workers and soldiers, as well as attacks on government targets and security barriers and foreign diplomatic missions. Furthermore, they encouraged the organization of the Islamists in Mali to form groups of combat and supported them with weapons and training.
In Nigeria, Boko Haram is considered the most violent terrorist movement in the world. It was founded in 2002 and then rose after its rebellion against the Nigerian government in 2009. It managed to control large areas of Nigeria, with weak presence in Cameroon and Niger {5}.
Apart from these groups, the terrorist organizations have other cells in African countries such as the Somali Islamic Youth Movement, the Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia and cells that are calling themselves Daesh in Libya, Sinai and other African countries.
Drug Trafficking
There have been several recent reports that extremist groups in Africa rely on drug trafficking and other criminal activities to finance their activities {6}. The director of the Anti-Terrorist Center in Italy also noted that there is a link between jihadist groups and the drug trade. Al-Qaeda in the Arab Maghreb has been working to protect drug convoys and smugglers from the drug traffickers to finance the movement operating in the Algerian Sahara and parts of the African coast. {8} This deployment in the border areas of several African countries has helped them to control smuggling routes. While accusing the Boko Haram group of allegiance to the Daesh organization, which is classified as the most extreme Islamic movements that caused the killing of 20,000 people and the destruction of entire villages and regions. It relies on financing and recruiting its elements on the drug trade and the royalties imposed on the shipments of narcotics that cross their regions, which controls the routes of the drug trade that goes to Europe {9}. The search for the adoption of a subsidy in Libya in the past years on the royalties that was gained by facilitating the passage of shipments of drugs across its regions.
According to International Drug Control organizations, about 40% of the cocaine reaching Europe comes from Africa {11} and West Africa, which offers a convenient short cut and a market-driven cocaine stop in Europe. East Africa is a route for Asian heroin to Europe, where Asian heroin extracted from Afghan or Burmese poppy seeds is transported by air to Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania, and is redirected to Europe, sometimes through Nigeria, to Mexico and North America. The West African regional representative of the UN office said extremist groups in Maghreb countries such as al-Qaeda in the Maghreb are reaping money by smuggling cocaine from Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. According to this estimates, between 30 and 40 tons of cocaine a year come across West Africa on the way to the booming markets in Europe, which may be considered another attraction for terrorist groups. It is regarded as a stepping stone to expand its influence in that region and benefit from its incubators, the security and social situation in the countries of the continent. Furthermore, in a report based on documents from the Italian police, there was the ship which was believed to be heading from Morocco, crossed through the ports of Libya, which was under Daash’s control. The ship had quantities of cannabis valued at 2.8 billion euros {12}. The Italian navy discovered a new drug smuggling route from Sicily to Libya. The route is thought to have been in response to increased surveillance along the Spanish coast and the opportunity offered by the collapse of Libya and the control of several regional organizations. Libya is passing drugs to Egypt and the Middle East before entering Europe through the Balkans.
Human Trafficking and Kidnapping
In addition to the smuggling of drugs, the control of Daesh organizations has allowed smuggling routes and extended their influence over border areas. Most of these forms of smuggling have been questioned. Recently, there has been a growing suspicion of human trafficking that flourished in recent years. According to a study by the Henry Jackson Center {13}, Daesh benefits from the modern slave trade to finance the terrorist operations and attract more elements to its ranks. Where in addition to the funds, they were getting from the smuggling of illegal immigrants to the European coast, was reaping more money by smuggling people from foreign countries toward Libya.
In addition to drugs and human trafficking, terrorist organizations in Africa have hijacked tourists and Western citizens for financial ransoms in return for their release, which is seen as one of the centers of activities that generate hundreds of millions of dollars in terrorist organizations in Africa. According to a new analysis by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Al-Qaeda in the Arab Maghreb managed to get about $100 million through only seven swap deals with Western governments between 2008-2013. In light of the security chaos experienced by a number of African countries, there has been many kidnappings targeting nationals of Western countries and international tourists and staff in African countries {14}.
Alliance with Local Mafias and Gangs
The terrorist organizations in African countries adopted financing their operations through criminal operations and entering the field of drug smuggling and humans. This created a link of understandings and alliances with local gangs and foreign mafias cross-border. An Italian police report said that there is clear evidence of cooperation between Daesh in Libya and the Italian Mafia to smuggle hashish from North Africa to Europe {15}. In 2009, an aircraft carrying an estimated 11 tons of cocaine from Venezuela to Mali was destroyed. Jihadi groups controlled most smuggling areas in the Coastal areas. The UN officials have pointed to a link between the international drug mafias and the jihadi organizations in the Coast, which are expected to have been assigned to smuggle drugs across their regions. The control of al-Qaeda in the Maghreb and the Boko Haram group on border areas among several African countries, have made alliances with other local non-Muslim criminal groups on the basis of mutual material benefit. As confirmed in a report by the US National Intelligence Council in 2011 that terrorist groups are using facilitators, out of the jihadist framework when it is unable to do the job on its own.
Conclusion
It is not strange that the West and Central African countries are specifically the focus of attention of terrorist groups and international greed. Betting on the weakness and disintegration of the state, ethnic and tribal internal conflicts, weak military and civilian institutions are typical examples of the expansion of the circle of terrorism, crime and foreign intervention. This reveals the hidden thread that combines the interests and objectives between terrorism, crime, the disintegration and weakness of states, and colonial looting.
West Africa has about 32 per cent of the continent’s total natural gas reserves. Nigeria has the largest reserves in the region and is estimated to have vast wealth of raw materials and natural resources. They are invested by foreign companies and share their profits with corrupt government elites in those countries. The colonialist countries are aware that their bet on the weakness of the state on the African continent, and the political corruption that the looting and the exploitation of wealth have left an open door to the expansion and stability of terrorist organizations.
Related sources and topics:
3.http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/65#note9
4.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/11/AR2007121101404.html