Rabat – Ministers participating in this year’s Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS have renewed their commitment to defeat the terrorist group, following the coalition’s meeting this year in Marrakech.
The ministers reconvened on Tuesday May 11, in the first meeting for the coalition to be held in Africa, at the invitation of Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The group reaffirmed its support of both military and civilian-led initiatives to fight the ISIS organization.
A statement released following the meeting stressed that despite significant progress, the group remains a threat and continues to carry out attacks against civilians in Iraq and Syria.
“Civilian-led efforts, including prevention, stabilization, countering terrorist financing, counter narratives and foreign terrorist fighter prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration are increasingly necessary to achieve the lasting defeat of Daesh,” the press release said.
Ministers participating in the meeting stressed their intentions to support civilian-led efforts, as well as find solutions for the families of extremist fighters who are also affected.
In addition to the threat the group presents in Iraq and Syria, the ministers also discussed their presence in Afghanistan under the name ISIS-Khorasan, and the group’s faction in Yemen.
The growing threat of ISIS in Africa was of particular concern. The coalition established its “Africa Focus Group” in December 2021 to bolster its efforts to fight terrorism in the continent, with the Marrakesh meeting being the third for the group.
According to the UNDP, terrorism has had an economic effect exceeding $170 billion on the continent in 2019. In addition to three prominent factions of ISIS, 24 other entities in the continent as registered as terrorist organizations by the Security Council.
Morocco’s foreign minister shared statistics on the group’s presence on the continent, stating that victims in Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 48% of global terrorism-related deaths.
The Sahel region emerged as a specific source of growing threats, being home to various terror groups and accounting for 35% of global terrorism-related deaths in 2021.
Morocco has previously expressed its regret over the lack of cooperation to defeat the groups terrorizing the region.
Countries such as France and the UK that were engaged in military operations in the Sahel have recently withdrawn from the region, but stated that they would continue to work with local allies to fight security threats.
Read also: Morocco Renews Regional Commitment As Sahel Becomes ‘Safe Haven’ for Terrorism
In addition to military and civilian action on the ground, the global community is endeavoring to fight against indoctrination and the spread of propaganda by the group in other regions, to curb the terrorist organization’s growth.
Over the years, ISIS operatives have made effective use of the internet and other rhetoric spreading tools to recruit fighters from all over the world, with a large chunk of its members traveling from other countries to participate.
While US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was expected to appear at the conference, a COVID-19 diagnosis prevented him from attending.
