“Aqil”: We warn against the increasing targeting of peacekeepers and aid workers in Africa
Pasha: We note the increasing use of mines by terrorist groups in violation of the Ottawa Convention
Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights released its monthly report on the most prominent terrorist operations and counter-terrorism efforts on the African continent for the month of June 2020, to track the path of terrorist groups and come up with recommendations and assessments of the current and future security situation on the African continent.
The report dealt with the details of the most prominent of those operations that took place during the past month of June, in each of the five regions of the continent, and which occurred in 13 African countries, with 41 terrorist attacks; It caused the death of at least 506 people, while armed groups that used religion as a cover were behind the largest number of victims.
The report stated that the region most affected is West Africa, with 405 victims, or about 80.04% of the total number of victims of the month, as a result of 21 terrorist operations announced in 6 countries. Nigeria was at the forefront of the countries affected by terrorism this month, with 254 people killed, and Somalia was subjected to the largest number of terrorist operations after the remarkable activity of Al-Shabaab movement, with 10 terrorist operations. On the other hand, Nigeria was at the forefront of the countries that were able to bring down the largest number of terrorist elements, when 50 terrorist elements arrived.
Ayman Aqeel stated; President of Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights, that there is a clear increase in the number of terrorist attacks against members of the UN and regional peacekeepers, especially in the countries of Mali, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia. Aqeel recommended the necessity of working to increase the reserves in securing these forces, whether civilian or military.
The human rights expert also recommended the necessity of securing relief workers and personnel in some countries, especially with many of them being murdered and abducted recently, in a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute.
While Abdul Rahman Pasha stated: The head of the research team at the Foundation's African Affairs Unit, stressed the need to increase efforts to avoid the danger of mines to civilians and military alike, after noticing that terrorist groups have used them frequently recently as ambushes for civilians and military personnel, especially in Libya and Somalia. "Pasha" indicated that there is an urgent need to activate the "Ottawa" agreement to prohibit the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of mines in those countries so that we do not bring back the "post-colonial Algeria" model in Africa again.
It is worth noting that the continent of Africa comes within the interest of the Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights, as it is a member of the General Assembly in the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union, as well as the North Africa region coordinator in the group of major African NGOs affiliated to the high-level political forum of the United Nations.
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