Armed ViolenceDevelopmentNews

Africa Home to 7 of 10 Riskiest Countries in the World – Index

A quarterly ranking of terrorism intensity index has put seven African countries in the first 20 among 198 riskiest nations in the world.

According to a report elaborating the index, violence across Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon are spreading across the Sahel and the wider region.

The index shows that some countries in Africa that used to be considered safe are falling into the firm grip of insecurity.

The index shows that the last quarter of 2020 alone saw a 13 per cent rise in terrorist incidents across the African continent compared to the previous period.


It also shows that the only African countries to register improvements in the index are Rwanda and Central African Republic while others have seen worse performances.

Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Mali, Somalia and Syria are tied as the highest risk countries globally, but are closely followed by Cameroon (6th), Mozambique (7th), Niger (8th), DR Congo (9th),  Iraq (10th) and Nigeria (11th).

According to the index, West African continues facing terror and Islamists attacks and has seen a significant deterioration of security due to Boko Haram insurgency, especially in Northern Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon.

The index predicts that “as we approach 2021, terrorist groups operating throughout sub-Saharan Africa are unlikely to lose their momentum.”

“As the economic fallout from COVID-19 empties government coffers, governments will struggle to implement the comprehensive counterterrorism strategies required to contain these security threats.

“Companies should now invest more time and energy into identifying emerging threats and adopting precautionary measures to mitigate against future security risks.

“For operators in Africa’s growing numbers of hotspots, this is now an imperative,” the report stated.


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Aliyu Dahiru

Aliyu is an Assistant Editor at HumAngle and Head of the Radicalism and Extremism Desk. He has years of experience researching misinformation and influence operations. He is passionate about analysing jihadism in Africa and has published several articles on the topic. His work has been featured in various local and international publications.

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