|
2021-03-14 Terror Networks
|
|
Press Briefing On U.S. Efforts to Combat Terrorism in Africa
|
|
Lots of excess verbiage and less interesting questions and answers snipped. [AllAfrica] Digital press briefing on U.S. efforts to combat terrorism in Africa, featuring John T. Godfrey, Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Acting Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and Michael C. Gonzales, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs. The speakers addressed recent developments in U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Africa, including in the Great Lakes region and Mozambique.
Mr. Godfrey: Great. So as you all probably saw yesterday, Secretary of State Blinken designated ISIS-Democratic Republic of the Congo and ISIS-Mozambique as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, or SDGTs for short. He also designated Seka Musa Baluku, the leader of ISIS-DRC, and Abu Yasir Hassan, the leader of ISIS-Mozambique, as SDGTs.
Before we dig into the substance and consequences of those designations, I'd first like to take a moment to discuss the larger context at play here, which is the expanded presence of ISIS in Africa.
Continued from Page 2
2019 to 2020 saw an important evolution of the threat posed by ISIS, also known as Daesh. While the fall of Baghouz in Syria in 2019 marked the end of the physical caliphate - which was a significant milestone and inflection point - it clearly did not signal the fall of ISIS itself. Shortly after the fall of the caliphate, then-ISIS emir Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi pointed to the ISIS-inspired attacks in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday in 2019, which killed more than 250 innocent victims, as an example of how ISIS branches and networks outside Iraq and Syria should conduct attacks going forward to be, and I'm quoting here, a "thorn in the chest of the crusaders."
Baghdadi's death during a U.S. military operation later that year, and his replacement by Amir Muhammad Sa'id Abdal Rahman Al-Mawla, came in the midst of an internal reorganization of the terrorist group that was designed to delegate decisions and resources to its branches and affiliates around the world. While al-Mawla may not have Baghdadi's profile or charisma, he has successfully carried out Baghdadi's dangerous vision.
And nowhere has this trend been as alarming as in Africa. If we are committed to the enduring global defeat of ISIS, or Daesh - and we are - then we have to confront it in Africa. We are doing so through national actions such as these designations that Secretary Blinken announced yesterday, and through multilateral efforts, of which the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS is a key line of effort.
The 83-member D-ISIS Coalition is one of the most effective multilateral efforts in history and is an excellent example of how the United States can help lead a multilateral counterterrorism platform that leverages the tools and capabilities of countries around the globe against a common enemy.
And the D-ISIS Coalition is now playing a role in countering ISIS activity and networks globally, including in Africa. The coalition held its first meeting focused on West Africa and the Sahel in late 2020 to discuss potential lines of capacity-building efforts that could be undertaken there, and we anticipate expanding that focus to include other regions in Africa a bit later this year.
Returning to the terrorist designations announced yesterday, these designations put the international community on notice about these groups and individuals. In addition to naming and shaming, these designations also seek to deny ISIS in the DRC and ISIS in Mozambique, as well as their leaders Seka Musa Baluku and Abu Yasir Hassan, the resources they need to fund their terrorist activities and carry out terrorist attacks. Among other consequences of those designations, any property or interests in property of those designated and subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them. It is a crime to knowingly provide material support or resources to ISIS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or to ISIS in Mozambique or to attempt or conspire to do so. Designations are one of the most important tools we have to disrupt the financial and other support networks that terrorist groups need to export violence and carry out attacks.
Today ISIS-DRC and ISIS-Mozambique should be on notice that the United States and our partners will take the steps needed to address security challenges in Africa to advance peace and security.
Question: Thank you, Coordinator Godfrey for your opening remarks. My question to you is: Why is the focus on IS-Mozambique and not on the Tanzanian infrastructure that appears central to the command, to the logistics, and to its evolution? And in addition to your response, can you share any updates on JCET for Mozambique and any linkages that may exist regarding this designation? Thank you.
Mr. Godfrey: Thank you, Pearl. Let me take this - the last part of your question first and then I'll address the other two pieces. I think the linkage between this activity, the designations that were announced yesterday, and the other lines of effort you mentioned reflects the fact that we are taking a comprehensive approach to the terrorist threat in Mozambique, and that includes countering terrorism finance but also helping build counterterrorism capability on the part of the Mozambican Government. I will defer to the Department of Defense to address your question about JCET. That's really not for me to say.
I will say that your question - the part of your question that focuses on why the focus on ISIS-Mozambique and not on the Tanzanian infrastructure, I would say we are focused on Mozambique, first, because that is where the most dramatic manifestations of the ISIS threat in that region are, and so that's reflected in the fact that you've had something like 2,000 civilian casualties and up to 670,000 internally displaced people in the Cabo Delgado region. I would not dispute at all that there is a cross-border linkage to Tanzania, and indeed, I think we saw that reflected in a way in the cross-border attacks from northern Mozambique back into Tanzania in October of 2020. So, certainly, we're not ignoring the fact that this is a threat that spans across borders, and that phenomenon, I would note, is very prevalent in other areas of the continent where we're dealing with both ISIS and al-Qaida terrorist threats.
Moderator: The next question will go back to Louise Dewast of AFP. "I'm a journalist with AFP News Agency, and I have a question about Nigeria. The country has faced a decade-long insurgency in the northeast, but increasingly criminal gangs in the northwest have terrorized communities including kidnapping hundreds of school children. How do you view this growing issue, and what efforts are being done in partnership with Nigeria to combat this?"
Mr. Gonzalez: Sure. I'm happy to take that. Frankly, we're disgusted by this pattern of mass abductions of school kids. I can think of nothing more abhorrent. And our condolences go out to the individuals affected and their families. But as the questioner poses, this certainly appears by all indications to be a dynamic stemming from criminal gangs motivated by monetary and economic factors. There's no indication that terrorists, whether Boko Haram or ISIS-West Africa, are involved in these. Although I would note that Boko Haram has opportunistically claimed credit for several of these kidnappings in the northwest in the past.
So the United States is ready to provide appropriate support to the Nigerian government if requested to do so. Longer term, we seek to help develop the capabilities of the Nigerian security services in order for them to adequately respond to the internal threats that the country faces. Again, I think the challenges are many in Nigeria. And we are encouraged by President Buhari's recent replacement of all of the security-sector chiefs and looking forward to partnering with him and continuing to build the capacity of the Nigerian military in order to be able to better protect and defend their people. 
|
Posted by trailing wife 2021-03-14 01:57||
||
Front Page|| [11130 views ]
Top
File under: Islamic State
|
|
Posted by Sheger Thromotch7944 2021-03-14 03:09||
2021-03-14 03:09||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Besoeker 2021-03-14 04:49||
2021-03-14 04:49||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by M. Murcek 2021-03-14 05:09||
2021-03-14 05:09||
Front Page
Top
|
|
Posted by Procopius2k 2021-03-14 07:02||
2021-03-14 07:02||
Front Page
Top
|
|
09:11 Mercutio
09:07 AlmostAnonymous5839
08:52 Matt
08:24 Matt
08:20 SteveS
07:43 Procopius2k
07:42 BrerRabbit
07:42 Procopius2k
07:39 Procopius2k
07:36 Procopius2k
07:35 Procopius2k
07:34 trailing wife
07:31 Procopius2k
07:30 NN2N1
07:22 NN2N1
07:18 trailing wife
07:14 Richard Aubrey
07:10 NN2N1
07:09 Besoeker
07:03 NN2N1
06:58 NN2N1
06:58 Besoeker
05:28 Whiskey Mike
05:23 Whiskey Mike
|
