The destructive Boko Haram
insurgency group is currently plagued
by financial difficulties, the UN Under-
Secretary-General for Political Affairs,
Jeffrey Feltman, has said. Feltman stated this while briefing the
Security Council on the UN Secretary-
General’s Fourth Report on the threat
the group poses to international
peace and security efforts to “check
and roll it back” on Tuesday The UN envoy also noted that Boko
Haram was under intense military
pressure, but warned against
undermining its capacity to launch
fatal attacks. “ISIL-affiliate Boko Haram is
attempting to spread its influence
and commit terrorist acts beyond
Nigeria. “And Boko Haram remains a serious
threat, with several thousand fighters
at its disposal. “It is, however, plagued by financial
difficulties and an internal power
struggle, and has split in two
factions,” Feltman said. While the previous reports on the
subject had focused on South East
Asia, Yemen and East Africa, Libya
and Afghanistan, the fourth report
focused on Europe, North Africa and
West Africa. It noted that ISIL had conducted a
range of attacks in Europe since
declaring in 2014 its intent to target
the region. Some of these attacks were directed
and facilitated by ISIL personnel,
while others were enabled by ISIL
providing guidance or assistance or
were inspired through its
propaganda, it said. The report stated that while the
military offensive in Libya had
dislodged ISIL from its stronghold
Sirte, the group’s threat to Libya and
neighbouring countries persists. “Its fighters, estimated to range from
several hundred to 3,000, have
moved to other parts of the country. “ISIL has increased its presence in
West Africa and the Maghreb, though
the group does not control significant
amounts of territory in the region. “The reported pledge of loyalty to
ISIL by a splinter faction of Al-
Mourabitoun led by Lehbib Ould Ali
may elevate the level of the threat.” Following the increased military
pressure, Feltman said ISIL is now on
the defensive militarily in several
regions, but was also adapting to
military pressure by resorting to
covert communications such as the ‘dark web’. “Although its income and the
territory under its control are
shrinking, ISIL still appears to have
sufficient funds to continue fighting,”
he warned. Feltman noted that ISIL relies mainly
on income from extortion and
hydrocarbon exploitation, even
though resources from the latter are
on the decline. According to him, UN Member States
are concerned that ISIL will try to
expand other sources of income, such
as kidnapping for ransom, and
increase its reliance on donations. “ISIL is adapting in several ways to
military pressure, resorting to
increasingly covert communication
and recruitment methods, including
by using the ‘dark web,’ encryption
and messengers,” he warned. The report also noted some of the
measures taken by Member States
and the UN, stressing the need to
develop sustained and coordinated
responses to the grave threat posed
by ISIL and associated groups and entities. Feltman said that there were 19
universal counter-terrorism
conventions and protocols, as well as
related regional instruments on
international terrorism, and relevant
UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. “But we need to do more, as Member
States continue to face significant
challenges to ensure effective
international cooperation,” he said. He warned that foreign terrorist
fighters leaving the conflict could
pose a grave risk to their homeland
or to the countries they are travelling
to or transiting through, such as Iraq
and Syria’s neighbours, as well as countries in the Maghreb. “Ultimately, it is the spread and
consolidation of peace, security,
development and human rights that
will most effectively deprive
terrorism of the oxygen it needs to
survive,” he concluded. (NAN)