By: Turkmen Terzi
Separatists and jihadist groups in the Sahel region are increasingly threatening the security of the entire African continent. Libya’s autocratic leader Muammar Ghaddafi’s fall in 2011 was only the beginning of turmoil that would ensue in the region.
The rise of Libyan rebel groups has led to a struggle for neighbouring governments to maintain peace in their countries as separatist groups have already gained traction in Northern Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger.
Morocco’s hosting of The Global Coalition against Daesh/ISIS in Marrakesh on 11 May, was an important step in forming a coalition among North Africa’s strong capitals to fight against jihadist groups in the Sahel and maintain peace and stability in one of the world’s most volatile regions.
“The Ministers welcomed the first Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS meeting to be convened in Africa and reaffirmed their shared determination to continue the fight against Daesh/ISIS through both military and civilian-led efforts contributing to the enduring defeat of the terrorist group.” Joint Communiqué by Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS said.
The Global Coalition against Daesh/ISIS was formed in 2014 with the announcement that the Coalition focuses “on preventing a resurgence of ISIS Daesh in Iraq and Syria and expressed continued support for leveraging the Coalition’s efforts against growing Daesh threats elsewhere, with a focus on Daesh affiliates in sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan”.
Burkina Faso became the 84th member during last year’s summit on December 2nd 2021 in Brussels. The U.S and Italy announced the formation of the ‘Africa Focus Group’ within the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS during the Brussel meeting, while Morocco and Niger joined the United States and Italy as the inaugural co-chairs of the group.
Soon after Gaddafi was killed in 2011 by rebel forces, following a NATO-backed revolution, Tuareg rebels and jihadists who used Gaddafi’s arsenal and money declared independence in northern Mali in 2012. France had to deploy military forces to Mali in 2013 to defeat rebels.
Jihadist groups and ethnic militias who were inspired by insurgents in Mali filled the security vacuum following the removal of Burkina Faso’s President Blaise Compaore in October 2014. The Libyan based FACT rebel group then killed Chad President Idriss Deby in April 2021.
The role and military assistance of North Africa’s three important Muslim countries Morocco, Algeria and Egypt are imperative in re-establishing security order in the 3,860-kilometre arc-like Sahel region that includes Senegal on the Atlantic coast, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan and Eritrea on the Red Sea coast.
The region has always been significant culturally and historically as a meeting point between the North’s Arabic, Islamic and nomadic cultures, and the indigenous and traditional cultures of the south. Hence the role of these three Muslim countries who have historical, religious and cultural ties with the region has become increasingly important.
It appears that Morocco has grown increasingly uneasy regarding the security gap in the Sahel region, seeing it as a threat to its own security, and intends on playing an active military role.
The then Moroccan Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani’s representatives were participants during the G5 Sahel Group conference on February 2021 in the Chadian capital of N’Djamena. French President Immanuel Macron joined the conference via video technology.
Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger founded the G5 Sahel in 2014 to fight against separatist groups and they launched the G5 Sahel Joint Force in February 2017. Morocco’s presence at the summit signals that Rabat is readying its army for military operations in the region in the event of the withdrawal of French troops.
The Egyptian government fears that terror groups may threaten its borders and is willing to engage in an active military role to combat terrorism in the Sahel region.
A high-level delegation from the Egyptian Ministry of Defence met with ministers of defence of the Sahel and Sahara states in Nigeria in 2018. Sudanese political analyst Mohamed Hamid told Daily News Egypt, that “Egypt is the most qualified country to help the Sahel region in fighting terrorism.” and retired Egyptian army General Gamal Eddin Mazloum told The Arab Weekly that “Military personnel in the Sahel and Sahara countries are badly in need of this training, especially in guerrilla warfare”.
Morocco and Egypt have built strong diplomatic relations. In his official visit to Rabat on May 9, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry supported Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara but it seems that North Africa’s other important state; Algeria will not be taking an active role and cooperating with Morocco to defeat jihadists in the Sahel.
Morocco has accused Algeria of supporting separatists in the disputed region of Western Sahara, and the border between Algeria and Morocco has been closed since 1994. Algeria cuts diplomatic ties with Morocco in August last year.
The cooperation between Rabat and Algiers is a key factor in bringing about security in the Sahel region, at a time when Macron faces increasing pressure from the French opposition for the withdrawal of French soldiers from the region as dozens of French soldiers were killed.
*Turkmen Terzi is a Turkish journalist based in Johannesburg