Jihadism and Africa, marginalization and poverty are decisive factors for terrorism: half of the deaths from violence by fundamentalists in the world

ACCRA – A study of theUndpThe United Nations Development Programme – reads an article by Africa – identifies economic difficulties and the impossibility of entering work contexts as the main causes that push young people to join armed jihadist groups. Who have counted on a 92% increase in new recruits in 2021. In short, in case the belief still persists that the main factor for joining terrorist groups is religion and religious fundamentalism, this United Nations analysis shows instead how they are above all other factors determine the involvement, especially of young people, in armed groups. Let’s talk about Journey into extremism in Africaa work begun in 2017 and which in the new and updated edition just published shows the real motivations that push young sub-Saharan people to choose the path of violence.

Marginalization produces Islamic radicalism. Violent extremism in sub-Saharan Africa has reached record highs, with the area now considered the epicenter of violent Islamist radicalism with nearly half of global terrorism deaths (48%) recorded in 2021. But the factor the driving force is not, as we said, religious conviction. In fact, only 17% identified religion as a key factor – a decrease of 57% compared to the 2017 results -, and only 6% indicated the influence of religious leaders. The pull factor it is rather social marginalization and the difficulty (if not the impossibility) of entering a working context. Economic difficulties (personal and of the country in which one lives), social marginalization, family situations of degradation and lack of attention are the reasons that would leave many young people with no hope.

Lack of income and job opportunities. And they are all reasons that make them possible victims of recruitment by armed groups. And while the report shows that there has been a 57% decrease in the number of people joining extremist groups for religious reasons, at the same time there has been a 92% increase in new recruits attracted by guaranteed income and better means of subsistence. All this would have worsened in the period of the pandemic and the isolation measures, from the peak of inflation that has hit practically all sub-Saharan countries, but also from the effects and crises caused by climate change. Lack of income, job opportunities and livelihoods lead to desperation and this is it – said Achim Steiner of theUndp“which is essentially urging people to take any opportunity, whoever is offering it.”

The survey in eight African countries. According to the report – which is based on interviews with 2,200 people in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan – about 25% of young people who answered the call of jihadist groups cited a lack of opportunities work as the main reason, while around 40% said they “urgently need a livelihood”. In short, a toxic mix of poverty, indigence, lack of work and future prospects. Interviewees come from various armed groups operating across the continent. These include Boko Haram in Nigeria, al-Shabaab in Somalia and, again in West Africa, the Group of Support for Islam and Muslims (Gsim), an ally of the Islamic State group.

The military campaigns have been a failure. In the pages of the report we read that since 2017 at least 4,155 attacks have been documented across Africa. Attacks that resulted in 18,417 deaths. In Somalia the highest number of victims. Indeed, little progress has been made in this country despite the military campaigns and the one the Somali government is currently carrying out against al-Shabaab which has dominated the region for more than a decade. The fact is that anti-terrorism campaigns, often with the help and participation of foreign military or operations of European countries and supported by the UN, have not had great effects, but rather have exacerbated the situation and increased anti-Western sentiments .

The harmful effects of foreign militaries. There are, for example, the French-led operations Barkhane and Takuba in Mali. After years the troops were forced to withdraw, leaving the situation on the ground more critical than it was when they arrived. The wave of extremism in Africa obviously not only has a negative impact on life, security and peace, but also threatens to reverse and nullify the hard-won successes and development of these years. Therefore, continuing to commit military forces has not proved to be the best answer. On the contrary, this approach ends up exacerbating situations and it is above all civilians who pay the price. Counter-terrorism operations – it is underlined – in addition to being expensive, are not very effective and, in most cases, counterproductive.

The obvious would be to recreate State-citizen relationships of trust. Obvious actions would be to recreate a relationship of trust between the state and citizens and, above all, create social conditions that give young people the opportunity to express themselves and emerge. Moreover, the report also shows that around 71% of those who have joined extremist groups – sometimes even convincing their women to do so – have been influenced and have personally experienced human rights violations by state security forces, such as killing or arresting family members.

How the brutality of the groups emerges. Violations and violence they witnessed and then put into practice in turn. Thus it emerges that the brutality of extremist groups is nothing but the other image of a system that puts force before justice and that wants to fight the anger and frustration of these young people with an iron fist, but without getting to the bottom of the reasons that are sowing so much insecurity in sub-Saharan countries. Finally, one aspect on which the report focuses is the need to implement any type of action – above all by intervening through local communities – to take these young people out of the groups they have joined, giving them trust, opportunities, sustainable growth paths and work. It seems, in fact, that most of the boys who deny participation in these groups never return.

* Antonella Sinopoli, Nigrizia