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Join on Telegram Rabat – The Ministerial Meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS has opened today in the city of Marrakech, convening high-level officials from around the world.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was among the A-list of the potential attendees, did not make his trip to Morocco due to COVID-19.
On Tuesday, Blinekn and Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita held a phone call in which the US official expressed “his regret” at not being able to participate in the meeting.
US Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland will represent Blinken during the meeting.
In his opening remarks during the coalition meeting, Bourita extended his words of “sympathy” to his “dear friend and colleague Secretary of State Antony Blinken.”
He said of Blinken’s absence from the meeting, “We had planned to meet in Marrakech, for our 3rd meeting in only a few weeks. But Covid-19 decided otherwise. I send him my greetings and best wishes for a speedy and full recovery.”
Bourita also extolled the “central role” Blinken played in bringing life to the Marrakech Global Coalition, saying that he is certain like everyone else that the US official “has the same will to see this meeting’s results sustained over time and that he will ensure its successful follow-up.”
The top Moroccan diplomat expressed satisfaction with the coalition’s efforts in challenging terror threats despite COVID-19.
He said the coalition was able to reinforce its actions against terrorism, emphasizing that the “unprecedented” number of representatives from different countries in Africa and Asia reflects “another force multiplier in achieving this objective.”
But global terrorism’s threat to worldwide stability and security has not diminished despite bold efforts and substantial achievements by governments, Bourita reminded participants.
“ISIS holds the infamous record of becoming the world’s deadliest terrorist group in 2021,” he said, recalling a resurgent ISIS is increasingly expanding in Africa.
“Compared to the pre-pandemic period, violence has increased on the continent, with a 40 to 60% rise in terms of fatalities and attacks,” Bourita argued.
The Moroccan foreign minister shared alarming numbers on ISIS’s presence on the continent, saying that sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 48% of global terrorism deaths and 3,461 casualties. The number brought the death toll to 30,0000 people during the last 15 years.
Renewed concerns regarding the Sahel
The Moroccan FM also recalled the situation in the Sahel region, an area frequently described by top security officials as a breeding ground for terror groups.
“The Sahel is home to the world’s fastest-growing and most-deadly terrorist groups,” Bourita said, stressing that the region accounts for 35% of global terrorism deaths in 2021.
Terror-related fatalities increased in the region by more than 1,000% between 2007 and 2021.
Morocco has long expressed concerns regarding the situation in the Sahel, regretting the lack of joint responsibility to defeat ISIS threats in the region.
Haboub Cherkaoui, Head of Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ), has repeatedly renewed calls for a shared responsibility against ISIS in a recent interview with Spanish news agency EFE.
“The focus that bothers and worries Morocco the most, currently, is the Sahel area, which has become a safe and fertile refuge for terrorist networks,” the BCIJ chief warned in a recent interview.
BCIJ is known as Morocco’s FBI, mobilizing its personnel against the scourge of terror cells in the North African country.
Cherkaoui emphasized that ISIS loyals and sympathizers are eager to join the terrorist group’s ranks in conflict zones like the Sahel.
“Most of the firearms seized with the [ISIS-affiliated] detainees [arrested in Morocco] come from the sub-Saharan region,” he noted.
Bourita echoed Cherkaoui’s remarks, saying that West Africa and the Sahel are the most impacted regions by insecurity in Africa, with over 1.4 million people internally displaced due to ongoing confrontations.
“Today, 27 terrorist entities based in Africa are registered on the UN Security Council Sanction list. This is a clear indicator of their connections to major global terrorist Groups,” he said.
