New York: Expanding terrorist networks, mass displacement, and the collapse of essential services in West Africa and the Sahel are a growing concern worldwide.

According to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who addressed the Security Council on Monday, the growth in terrorist groups is not only a regional dramatic reality but also a growing global threat due to their progressive links across Africa and beyond.

The vast Sahel region, stretching almost coast to coast across Africa, accounts for 19 percent of terrorist attacks worldwide and over half of global terrorism-related casualties. Approximately four million people are now displaced across Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and neighboring countries.

To address the crisis, Mr. Guterres urged for a unified, coherent, and consensus-based regional response, the maintenance of financial support for humanitarian response plans, and a development strategy to address the root causes of terrorism. He encouraged intelligence sharing and financial tracking through the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Compact and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) counter-terrorism strategy. He further noted that humanitarian appeals for the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin remain severely underfunded, with less than one quarter of the $4.9 billion required having been raised. He emphasized the need to fight poverty and invest in sustainable development.

Omar Alieu Touray, President of the ECOWAS Commission, warned that terrorism has spread beyond the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin to threaten all of West Africa. He informed the Security Council that ECOWAS is accelerating the deployment of its standby force, starting with 1,650 personnel and scaling up to 5,000 with regional and partner support. He stated that while partners have taken action to combat terrorism, the proliferation of these initiatives has led to fragmentation, hindering cooperation. He stressed that coordination and cohesion must be a priority, declaring that no amount of money or equipment will overcome terror without collaboration and synergy.

Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone and chair of ECOWAS, emphasized the need for democratic trust, decisive action in the fight against extremism, and regional security coordination. He proposed an ECOWAS-UN-African Union compact to ensure predictable financing and operations across the region, re-imagining ECOWAS as a community of courage, the moral compass, and a stabilizing force in Africa.