Five months after the last Daesh stronghold in Syria was overrun by US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), there are worrying signs that fighters belonging to the now defunct self-proclaimed caliphate are regrouping.
The US envoy to the international coalition fighting Daesh, James Jeffrey, told reporters in Washington last week that thousands of the extremist organization’s members scattered around Syria and Iraq remained a global threat.
US State Department counterterrorism coordinator, Nathan Sales, also told reporters that “Daesh branches and networks now span the African continent from east to west and north to south,” and he claimed that around 1,200 Daesh fighters were now in Europe with more trying to cross borders.
He warned that while Daesh had taken on much of the world’s focus, Al-Qaeda had rebuilt itself and was as strong as ever.
Coinciding with these statements, a UN report by specialists released last week warned that a recent pause in international terrorist violence may soon end, with a new wave of attacks possible before the end of the year. It pointed to the fact that many of the estimated 30,000 foreign fighters who travelled to the “caliphate” to fight may still be alive.
The report, which is based on information supplied by intelligence agencies of UN member states, concluded that “some may join Al-Qaeda or other terrorist brands that may emerge,” adding that the threat from Daesh and Al-Qaeda, or similar groups is unlikely to decline further. The report warned that the threat to Europe remained high.
Last week militants belonging to Daesh launched an attack in Iraq’s Salahuddin province for the first time since the group was defeated in 2017. Earlier this month Daesh also claimed responsibility for a bloody suicide attack on a police station in Aden, Yemen which killed 13 police officers. Daesh is active in Afghanistan, according to various reports.
This is not the time for complacency. The 80-member anti-Daesh international coalition must mobilize to make sure that Daesh or any other extremist group does not reform or dig roots in the region and beyond.
One area where international cooperation is urgently required is in Syria — a country still embroiled in civil war and where a number of state and non-state actors are vying for control. There are literally thousands of foreign fighters and their families in make-shift prisons awaiting repatriation. With minimum oversight of these incarceration centers, the possibility of some fighters finding their way back into the open desert is high.
Daesh emerged out of the chaos and vacuum that plagued Syria and Iraq following 2011. It took massive international and regional military and intelligence resources to defeat the group.
But the fall of the so-called caliphate never meant that the dark dogma that the group espoused had gone away. And while the world was busy fighting Daesh, other extremist groups especially Al-Qaeda was regrouping in Yemen, North Africa, the African Sahara and other places.
Lack of international cooperation and the absence of a new strategy will only help these groups expand and reorganize.
Last week US President Donald Trump underlined the lack of coordination with Europe when he declared that, “we have thousands of Daesh fighters that we want Europe to take and let’s see if they take them. And if they don’t take them, we’ll probably have to release them to Europe.”
What is needed at this stage goes beyond military and intelligence cooperation. The nefarious extremist dogma that these groups embrace and promote continues to challenge governments as they try to deal with youth radicalization. The world, especially this region, cannot afford to let a new wave of religious militancy emerge.
The level of destruction that Daesh has caused in both Iraq and Syria goes beyond the massive loss of life, the destruction of cities and national treasures. It had dealt a heavy blow to the diverse ethnic, cultural and religious fabric of the region; a calamity which will take decades to recover from.
While Europe must rise to the challenge and face its responsibility by reclaiming thousands of foreign fighters being held in Syria and Iraq, the international community as a whole must focus its efforts on bringing stability to countries where civil wars and ethnic and sectarian tensions provide a fertile ground for extremist groups. These include Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Yemen.
It is a tall order and for some, it may appear impossible to achieve. But the price of doing nothing or little will be hefty. Our region had become a battleground for religious militancy and Muslims had been its main victims.
The challenge for our leaders is to make sure that our youth is exposed to the values of tolerance, a plurality of ideas and diversity. The dark chapter of Daesh and Al-Qaeda must be closed forever.