Aqeel: We call on the international community to put pressure on the Ethiopian government to stop the bloody and violent practices

Basant Essam: Promoting dialogue and raising awareness among young men and women is the best solution to confront extremist ideology

As part of its interest in achieving peace, justice and stability and supporting the implementation of Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda and the third aspiration of Agenda 2063 of the African Union, the Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights issued its monthly report. "The lens of terrorist operations in Africa" For the month of January 2021, which dealt with terrorist operations in Africa, and the resulting deaths, injuries and displacement, in addition to the efforts of African governments and UN missions in combating terrorism. The Foundation also provides a package of recommendations to African governments and the international community to achieve a safe, secure, and stable Africa.

The African continent welcomed the new year with 66 bloody attacks that resulted in 642 deaths and 96 injured, not to mention the displacement and displacement of hundreds and the kidnapping and arrest of dozens, in 15 different African countries. The East African region was the deadliest during this month, with about 368 victims, accounting for 57.2% of the total victims for this month, while Sudan came in the forefront of countries in terms of the number of victims In which 207 casualties occurred, and Somalia came on top of the countries in terms of numbers of terrorist attacks, which witnessed 12 terrorist attacks during this month.

In this regard, Ayman Aqil, President of Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights stated that after a year of monitoring and following up by Maat Foundation for the development and progress of terrorist operations in Africa, the situation is still getting worse, and despite the efforts made to combat terrorism, it is not in line with the growing phenomenon of terrorism. In all regions of the continent.

For his part, Aqil commented on the January report, noting that the international community should exert more pressure on the Ethiopian government regarding the recent government practices, which have become bloodier in recent months. While the human rights expert reiterated his recommendation regarding the need to open fair and thorough investigations after the deaths of hundreds of victims in the regions of Benishangul Gomes and Tigray.

In a related context, Basant Essam El Din, a researcher at the Foundation's African Affairs and Sustainable Development Unit, stated that ethnic fighting has become no less dangerous than terrorism and extremist ideology, as ethnic differences have caused the deaths of more than 290 people in several African countries this month. On the other hand, the researcher indicated the importance of activating the principles of dialogue and raising awareness among young men and women, whether to resolve ethnic differences or to limit the spread of terrorist and extremist ideas.

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).