Appalling scars

If the preceding year, 2021, saw a deadly spurt in cases of COVID-19, threatening thousands of lives, there was no letup either in the cases of lethal terror looming across the world. The toll pertaining to terror acts last year was not only numerically higher but was equally devastating in content and effect. Before we dwell upon the major cases of terror strikes across the continents, it must be mentioned that the UN and several other watchdogs responsible to contain terror fell much short of expectations in reining in the menace. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), entrusted with the task of stifling the fund flow to the terror groups, also failed to live up to the cause. There has been a marked increase in the cases of terror, rather than any abatement.

To begin with, the terror incidents in South Asia, Afghanistan, which has always been an epicentre of terror-linked activities, courtesy of the Taliban, witnessed a fresh surge in terror cases. This is despite the fact that the Taliban usurped power on August 15, and it was thought that to prove their credibility and not to repeat their bloody performance of previous rule (1996-2001), it would now act responsibly. But no, they have been utterly ineffective, either on account of complicity with terror perpetrators or their indifference. The past year saw a spate of killings inside the Shia mosques and hospitals. The murders were indiscriminate and the destruction wanton. More disturbing was the trend of the Islamic State (Khorasan) raising its ugly head and the Taliban regime meekly surrendering to its mayhem. Suicide bombers ruled the roost and there's no semblance of any order despite the Taliban being in power for nearly last five months.

Pakistan, which is largely responsible for bringing up the Taliban led-regime in Afghanistan in furtherance of its own geopolitical interests, has not escaped the heart of terror due to its own appeasement policy towards the country's zealots. It continues to pay a heavy price to date, and 2021 was no exception. Quetta in Baluchistan saw fatal terror cases, so did Karachi. It saw the re-emergence of a bigotry-based outfit, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). Pakistan watchers found it bizarre to see that an elected government in Pakistan, with the support of the all-powerful army, submitted before the TLP, accepting all its demands. This leaves Pakistan to face the wrath of history about it being a party to the fueling of religious extremism in a democratically frail country, already threatened with countless challenges for its survival. In brief, Afghanistan and Pakistan remained the hotspots of terror in 2021 and they continue to be so, this year as well.

Iraq, in 2021, was not quiet at all. New trend from the security angle was evident in the attacks on the country's President carried out with the help of drones. Earlier, at the beginning of 2021, Baghdad had witnessed two cases of suicide bombings. Iran could explode anytime if forces hostile to it ignite the elements waiting in the fringe. In West Asia, turbulence seems to have come to stay. Flashpoint is, of course, Yemen where Saudi Arabia has not ended its military offensives against the minority Shia Houthis.

Africa too remained in the hotspot in 2021, following an avalanche of terror attacks across almost the entire length and breadth of the dark continent. Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia etc. were witnesses to horrific terror cases. What's significant is that Al Qaeda and ISIS have made themselves safely entrenched in these countries and they struck terror in 2021 at their whims and fancies. We must mention last year's attacks in a relatively insignificant country like Burkina Faso. The influence of Islamic terror is profound in the country. The country recently saw the killing of over 40 persons in a terror offensive. Similarly, Mozambique, once under Portuguese rule, is facing serious problems from the tenets of terror. Cases here were more grotesque as it saw beheadings and mindless arson. This shows how rapid the terrorists are expanding their footprint. Western countries could perhaps join hands together to see that such countries get rid of terror. Better intelligence system, sophisticated arms' supply for countering terror and terror-specific training could at least mitigate the threats of terror to avoid repeats of unsavoury acts of 2021 in the new year. If Africa is taken care of, Al Qaeda and the remnants of ISIS could be checkmated, severing their links across the continent of Africa.

Back to South-East Asia, southern tracts of Thailand, bordering Malaysia, Indonesia and the adjoining places, saw sporadic cases of terror-linked violence, showing no signs of any tranquillity in the last year. Judging by this trend, it's doubtful if peace prospects in 2022 will be any brighter. Unless the threat is tackled in unison by the world leaders, instead of being fragmented, peace will be elusive in the new year too. Will the UN, the EU, ASEAN, OIC and their affiliates do something now to make the world more livable and peaceful? The clock is ticking and the time is now.

The writer is a retired IPS officer, a security analyst and a former National Security Advisor to the PM of Mauritius. Views expressed are personal