Morocco Committed to Addressing Terrorism Threat in Africa

FM Nasser Bourita addresses the meeting. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates)
FM Nasser Bourita addresses the meeting. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates)
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Morocco Committed to Addressing Terrorism Threat in Africa

FM Nasser Bourita addresses the meeting. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates)
FM Nasser Bourita addresses the meeting. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates)

Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad Nasser Bourita said on Friday Rabat is committed to promoting cooperation in order to address the complex and transnational nature of the terrorist threat in Africa.

This commitment is reflected first by the Kingdom's accession to several sub-regional cooperation frameworks aimed at strengthening the collective capacity of African countries to protect their borders from these threats, Bourita told a ministerial meeting of the African Union's Peace and Security Council (AU-PSC).

The meeting, the first held under the Moroccan AU-PSC chairmanship for the month of October, focused on development and de-radicalization as levers in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.

Bourita highlighted Morocco’s efforts in de-radicalization, including the establishment of specialized institutions to train African imams, such as the Foundation Mohammed VI of African Ulema.

The foundation is a real platform for exchange and sharing to address the misinterpretation of religious texts and messages.

Bourita stressed that the Kingdom is committed to promoting and defending African security concerns at international arenas, including during his three consecutive terms as co-chair of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum (GCTF) and his co-chairmanship of the Africa Focus Group of the Global Coalition against ISIS.

With 48 percent of the victims of terrorism in the world being African, 7,234 terrorist attacks that have claimed the lives of 28,960 victims in 2021 and 27 terrorist groups listed on the UN sanctions list, Africa is experiencing "an unprecedented proliferation of terrorist groups," warned Bourita.

Terrorism in Africa has cost the continent $171 billion in the past ten years, he added.

Noting that the Sahel-Saharan region has become in the space of a decade the world’s second terrorism hotspot, the FM said: "This bleak picture should challenge us on the need to adopt a holistic approach that devotes more effort to the underlying factors fueling the proliferation of radicalization and terrorism on our continent."

Bourita cited "the latent multiplication" of separatist groups that is now established as a real catalyst for political and security instability on the continent.

To dry up the sources of the terrorist threat, Morocco advocates the establishment of a platform for collaboration between member states for the exchange of expertise in de-radicalization and the establishment of a development fund dedicated to financing African collective action in socio-economic and human development, said Bourita.



Syria’s New Rulers Name Abu Qasra as Defense Minister

Head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa sits next to Murhaf Abu Qasra, who according to an official source has been appointed as Defense Minister in Syria's interim government, in Damascus, Syria in this handout image released on December 21, 2024. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)
Head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa sits next to Murhaf Abu Qasra, who according to an official source has been appointed as Defense Minister in Syria's interim government, in Damascus, Syria in this handout image released on December 21, 2024. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)
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Syria’s New Rulers Name Abu Qasra as Defense Minister

Head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa sits next to Murhaf Abu Qasra, who according to an official source has been appointed as Defense Minister in Syria's interim government, in Damascus, Syria in this handout image released on December 21, 2024. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)
Head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa sits next to Murhaf Abu Qasra, who according to an official source has been appointed as Defense Minister in Syria's interim government, in Damascus, Syria in this handout image released on December 21, 2024. (Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via Reuters)

Syria's new rulers have appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the opposition which toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government, an official source said on Saturday.

Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior figure in the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which led the campaign that ousted Assad this month. He led numerous military operations during Syria's revolution, the source said according to Reuters.

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed "the form of the military institution in the new Syria" during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported.

Abu Qasra during the meeting sat next to Sharaa, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, photos published by SANA showed.

Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said this week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former opposition factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.

Bashir, who formerly led an HTS-affiliated administration in the northwestern province of Idlib, has said he will lead a three-month transitional government. The new administration has not declared plans for what will happen after that.

Earlier on Saturday, the ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step "comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability".

Shibani, a 37-year-old graduate of Damascus University, previously led the political department of the opposition’s Idlib government, the General Command said.

Sharaa's group was part of al-Qaeda until he broke ties in 2016. It had been confined to Idlib for years until going on the offensive in late November, sweeping through the cities of western Syria and into Damascus as the army melted away.

Sharaa has met with a number of international envoys this week. He has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.

Syrian opposition fighters seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family's decades-long rule.

Washington designated Sharaa a terrorist in 2013, saying al-Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad's rule in Syria. US officials said on Friday that Washington would remove a $10 million bounty on his head.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, caused one of the biggest refugee crises of modern times and left cities bombed to rubble and the economy hollowed out by global sanctions.