India expressed its disapproval of the use of African resources to foment terrorism and bloodshed across the nation on Thursday. India emphasised the need to stop the exploitation of African resources and the need for the international community to hold those responsible for supporting terrorism accountable during a UNSC debate on ‘Peace and Security in Africa: Strengthening the fight against the financing of armed groups and terrorists through the illicit trafficking of natural resources’.
Speaking at the international summit, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said that armed and terrorist organisations had made significant gains recently. He described how some of the weaker groups are taking advantage of weak government structures and security gaps across the continent, particularly in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, and East and Central Africa. The Indian minister emphasised that by taking advantage of the region’s vast resource base, terrorist organisations are enhancing their funding. ‘These areas continue to be susceptible to the financing of terrorism and money laundering. Among other well-known activities, illegal natural resource exploitation, wildlife trafficking, extortion, etc., are among the ways that terrorist and armed groups are progressively funding their operations’.
Without deliberate & concerted efforts- global fight against terrorism would fail, claims India;
According to him, these organisations are funding their operations by taking use of the rapidly developing information and communication technologies as well as other technologies linked to financial transactions, encryption, and other forms of transportation and delivery. Without deliberate and concerted efforts to stop the financing of terrorists, neither the international campaign against armed organisations nor the fight against terrorism can be successful. He also emphasised that the worldwide fight against armed groups and terrorism both depend on deliberate and concerted efforts to stop the financing of terrorists.
‘We must acknowledge that terrorism, like armed conflicts, is growing in Africa. Terrorist organisations affiliated with Al-Qaida and ISIL have grown significantly stronger in recent years across Africa, thriving on artisanal illegal mining of gold, rare minerals, gemstones, uranium, coal, timber, etc. through illegal trade networks facilitated by transnational criminal networks, ‘he raised his arms in protest. ‘ To fund their terrorist actions, terrorist organisations like Al-Shabaab have established sophisticated revenue collection networks. Terrorism poses a severe threat to the prospects for peace in numerous regions of Africa, which is already wracked by armed conflicts, if it is not tackled ‘,he continued.
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