‘No country is safe’: 23,000 people died in 8000 terror attacks last year

New York: The UN Security Council says the threat of terrorism has increased and become more diffuse in various regions of the world aided by new technologies.

It strongly condemned the flow of weapons, military equipment, drones and explosive devices to Islamic State and al-Qaeda extremists and their affiliates.

Its presidential statement, approved by all 15 council members, was adopted at the end of an open meeting on counter-terrorism chaired by External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar of India, who called terrorism “an existential threat to international peace and security”.

Pakistani security officials inspect a damaged truck at the site of suicide bombing on the outskirts of Quetta, Pakistan, last month. A suicide bomber hit near a truck carrying police officers on their way to protect polio workers outside Quetta.Credit:AP

US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland told the council that “last year, the world faced more than 8000 terrorist incidents, across 65 countries, killing more than 23,000 people.” She said the UN estimated that racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism has increased over 320 per cent in recent years.

“Other recent attacks around the world – the bombing of a police station in Indonesia, the coup attempt in Germany, and hateful incidents here in our country [US] – remind us that no country is safe from this threat, and it cannot be defeated by any of us alone or by any regional bloc,” she said. “We must all work together.”

In the presidential statement, which is a step below a resolution, the Security Council expressed grave concern that terrorists were raising and transferring funds in a variety of ways, including abusing legitimate businesses and non-profit groups, kidnapping for ransom and trafficking in people, cultural items, drugs and weapons.

Masked police officers lead Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, centre, to a police vehicle during a raid against coup plotters in Germany last week.Credit:DPA

The council urged the 193 UN member states to prioritise countering terrorist financing.

It also said terrorist groups “craft distorted narratives that are based on the misinterpretation and misrepresentation of religion to justify violence” and use names, religion, or religious symbols for propaganda, recruitment and manipulation of followers. To tackle this, the council called for counter-narratives “promoting tolerance and coexistence”.

The statement said combatting terrorism required governments and the “whole of society” to cooperate in increasing awareness about the threats of terrorism and violent extremism and “effectively tackling them”.

It said “strengthening cooperation in countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes” was needed, pointing to the increased use of the internet, social media, virtual assets, new financial instruments and the increasing global misuse of drones for terrorist attacks.

Members of the Pakistani Hazara community protest against the suicide bomb attack on a Hazara education centre, in Kabul, Afghanistan, in October.Credit:AP

UN counter-terrorism chief Vladimir Voronkov told the council in a virtual briefing that despite continuing leadership losses by al-Qaeda and the Islamic State extremist group, “terrorism in general has become more prevalent and more geographically widespread, affecting the lives of millions worldwide”.

In recent years, he said, Islamic State, al-Qaeda and their affiliates have exploited instability, fragility and conflict to pursue their agendas “particularly in West Africa and the Sahel, where the situation remains urgent as terrorist groups strive to expand their area of operations”. These groups have also contributed to deteriorating security in central and southern Africa, he said.

In Afghanistan, Voronkov said, “the sustained presence of terrorist groups continues to pose serious threats to the region and beyond”. He expressed concern that the country’s Taliban rulers “have failed to sever longstanding ties with terrorist groups sheltering in the country despite this council’s demands that they do so,” an apparent reference to al-Qaeda-Taliban links.

He was also concerned about at the rise in terrorist attacks “based on xenophobia, racism and other forms of intolerance or in the name of religion or belief.”

Voronkov, who heads the UN Office of Counter-terrorism, also warned that terrorist groups use “online video games and adjacent platforms to groom and recruit members, propagandise, communicate, and even train for terrorist acts.”

AP

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