World losing war against terrorism: AU official

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - A senior official with the African Union Commission has said the world was losing the war to terrorism and violent extremism in spite of “winning in many parts of the world”.

"Even though we are winning in many parts of the world against terrorists, we are still losing the war," Amadou Diau, special advisor to the African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki, told a joint meeting of U.S. and AU security experts as part of the first ever Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Week.

According to Diau, the Oct. 14 massive terrorist attack in Somalia's capital Mogadishu that claimed at least 358 lives, testifies to the growing terrorist threats humanity is facing.

He said in 2017 alone, more than 1,000 terrorist attacks were registered across the globe.

Speaking at the launch of the CVE Week in Addis Ababa, Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Mission to the African Union, Jessica Davis Ba said: "With almost 70 percent of Africans under 25 years of age, empowering young people is at the heart of U.S.- Africa relations."

"When youth are idle and feel as if they have no future, they become more susceptible to the pull of violent extremism," she said. "I believe youths must be partners for peace."

This came on the sidelines of the three-leg Africa tour -- Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Ethipoia -- undertaken by Nikki Haley, ambassador of the U.S. to the UN.

"CVE Week is a joint initiative of the United States Mission to the African Union Commission, in collaboration with the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, USAID Africa Bureau," according to the press release.