“Aymen Okeil: We call for a clear strategy to deal with tribal violence in Sudan and South Sudan
Basant Essam:The rising threat of terrorism in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is sounding the alarm bell
Maat for Peace, Development, and Human Rights released its monthly report on the most prominent terrorist operations and counter-terrorism efforts in the African continent for March 2021, to track down terrorist groups and come up with recommendations and assessments of the current and future security situation in the African continent.
The report covered the details of the most prominent terrorist incidents that occurred in March 2021 in each of the five regions of the continent. At least 45 terrorist attacks have been launched, causing the death of at least 1,835 people, either as a result of ethnic conflicts or terrorist and insurgent attacks.
With 1324 deaths, caused by 20 terrorist incidents and one ethnic clash, East Africa reported the highest number of terrorist attacks and incidents this month. With 1,326 deaths, Ethiopia came at the forefront of the countries affected by terrorism this month. However, Somalia reported the largest number of terrorist operations, given the recent activity of the Al-Shabaab movement, which carried out 8 terrorist operations.
With regard to combating terrorism, the concerted efforts succeeded in bringing down 158 terrorist elements, after launching 13 or more operations, whether land or air. Nigeria was at the forefront of the countries that succeeded in bringing down the largest number of terrorist elements. In March 2021, Nigeria launched 4 military operations, bringing down 89 terrorists.
In light of the report, Ayman Okeil, President of Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights, commented that the governments of Sudan and South Sudan should make more efforts to strengthen the means for dialogue to stop the bloodshedding in the different clans. This can be achieved through the establishment of a Local Area Coordinator responsible for realizing this purpose in the first place and settling disputes between rival tribes and clans. Okeil further stressed that the lack of a clear vision and strategy to deal with the file of ethnic-based violence could impede peace gains in the two countries.
Basant Essam El-Din, a researcher in the African Affairs and Sustainable Development Unit at Maat, pointed out that the rising threat of terrorism in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is sounding the alarm bell. Ms. Essam El-Din also stressed the need to secure the country's eastern villages and expand police patrols to prevent attacks by the rebel elements, and compensate these victims, especially in light of the classification of these elements as members of the ISIS militia.
Notably, Africa is among the issues of concern to Maat for Peace, Development and Human rights, being a member of the General Assembly for the Economic, Social & Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the Africa Union (AU). Moreover, Maat serves as an Observer in The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) and as a Northern African Coordinator in the major Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Africa of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
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