The rise of insurgent groups in various African regions destabilises the continent. This is according to an analyst, who said the recent discovery of an illegal secret Libyan military camp in White River, Mpumalanga, raised serious concerns among security experts in the country.
According to Senior Advisor, African Union (AU) at the International Crisis Group, Liesl Louw-Vaudran, who spoke to ‘The Star’ on Thursday, the news had exposed how dysfunctional the country’s intelligence was and lack of political accountability from political principals.
The Libyan military camp discovery comes days after the brutal attack by the terrorists in northern Mali on the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) and Russian instructors last week, with many calling for greater security co-operation between states in countering terrorism.
The terrorist group claimed victory by posting that “50 Russian Wagner mercenaries and 10 other Malian soldiers, and the annihilation of their entire army, including their transport vehicles”.
However, Louw-Vaudran said the AU had tried to co-ordinate some of these efforts through mechanisms like the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA), adding that co-operation was often difficult.
This was due to other countries, especially intelligence services, being sometimes reluctant to share information, according to Louw-Vaudran.
She also stated that terror groups thrived in ungoverned spaces where there wasn’t a strong state presence like border areas far from capitals.
Louw-Vaudran, however, said each situation was different depending on its own set of root causes and drivers of terrorism, adding that such incidents were very often linked to local grievances and problems.
“Terrorism has been a threat to African countries and citizens for a long time, but it grew rapidly in the last decade, especially in West Africa and the Sahel since 2011, after the fall of Gaddafi in Libya and with the establishment of ISIS and al-Qaeda in many parts of Africa. It’s very difficult to predict how this is going to play out.”
Meanwhile, during ‘Biznews’ interview this week, the SAPS whistle-blower Patricia Mashale alleged that former deputy minister in the Presidency Zizi Kodwa and former minister of police Bheki Cele, were once informed by police about the suspected secret foreign military camps involved in unlawful activities.
Mashale said SMSes to Cele about secret military training camps were deleted from her phone while it was with the police.
She further claimed that she was blocked by Kodwa, during his time as deputy minister for State Security in the Presidency, when she tried to follow up on the info shared on the secret military training camps.
According to media reports, the Libyan nationals were “on the payroll of eastern Libyan military strongman General Khalifa Haftar”.
South Africans have since asked the government and the security cluster to take measures in addressing the ramifications of the military camp’s discovery.
Louw-Vaudran revealed that the country has been criticised for not cracking down on money laundering and on the suspected financing of terror groups through networks that were operating in the country.
“It is highly unlikely that South Africa will get caught up in wars elsewhere in Africa by taking sides or enabling certain groups, at least not anywhere in the near future.
“On the contrary, South Africa is spending huge amounts of money on fighting terror groups as part of regional efforts in Mozambique (where the SADC mission is now withdrawing, but SA still have soldiers and the navy deployed), and in the eastern DRC. South Africa also plays an important role in continental bodies like the AU that focuses on trying to stop conflict in Africa.”
She also revealed that as the AU, they would always be warned about terror threats by the non-African countries, especially the US.
The rise of insurgent groups in various African regions has become a pressing concern for national governments, international organisations, and local populations alike.
The analyst said the Azawad (CSP-PSD) Movement, which carried out the massacre in Mali last weekend, operated in conjunction with the al-Qaeda-affiliated group JNIM.
JNIM was recognised as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US back in 2018 and is also listed by the UN Security Council as an al-Qaeda-linked organisation on its sanctions list.
Azawad (CSP-PSD) and JNIM made no secret of the fact that they are acting in concert. Both groups simultaneously shared their attack on the convoy on social media. Photos went viral of the group taking pictures of the same dead soldier, one displaying the Azawad (CSP-PSD) flag, the other al-Qaeda flag.
JNIM and Azawad (CSP-PSD) simultaneously reported on their so-called success in press releases on Saturday.
A mainly Tuareg separatist coalition has claimed a major victory over Mali’s army and its Russian allies following three days of intense fighting in a district on the Algerian border.
“Our forces decisively obliterated these enemy columns on Saturday,” said a statement by Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, spokesperson for the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP-PSD) alliance on Sunday.
African security experts linked the CSP (Tuareg separatists) and the JNIM. Tuareg leader Algabas Intalla, on behalf of Azawad (CSP-PSD), has signed a non-aggression pact with JNIM terrorists – which will give the groups freedom of movement and exchange information on the deployment of FAMa forces.
The AU expressed sincere condolences to the families of Malian soldiers and Russian instructors.
It further said that “to prevent such tragedies on the continent, we need to unite in our protest against Azawad (CSP-PSD) and JNIM”.
The Star