UN chief says 13,000 foreign terrorist fighters joined Islamic State

PanARMENIAN.Net - The world is witnessing a dramatic evolution in the nature of the terrorist threat, UN Secretary-General said.

In the last year, terrorist attacks have killed, maimed and displaced many thousands of civilians – the vast majority of them Muslims from Afghanistan to Somalia to Nigeria… from Iraq to Libya to Mali. These attacks have been carried out by violent extremists who thrive in conditions of insecurity and injustice, fragility and failed leadership. These groups ruthlessly hijack religion to control territory and vital economic resources. They brutalize women and girls. They target and slaughter minorities. They are the enemies of faith,” Ban Ki-moon said in his remarks to Security Council High-Level Summit.

The UN’s Al Qaeda-Taliban Monitoring Team estimates that more than 13,000 foreign terrorist fighters from over 80 Member States have joined ISIL and the Al Nusra Front. This growing phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters is a consequence -- not a cause -- of the conflict in Syria, he said.

“A long period of upheaval and, until recently, unresponsive leadership in Iraq – coupled with outrageous human rights abuses in Syria -- have created a hothouse of horrors. There can be no genuine protection of civilians if extremist groups are permitted to act with impunity and the Syrian government continues its assault on its own people,” Ban said.

“For more than a year, I have sounded the alarm about the vicious and unjustifiable actions of these groups and the danger they pose to Iraq, Syria, the wider region and international peace and security. We need a creative and comprehensive political strategy in Syria and beyond to stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters,” he added.

The UN chief said terrorists must be defeated -- but we must do so in a way that avoids the deliberate acts of provocation that they set for us -- victimization, further radicalization and more civilian deaths.

“Eliminating terrorism requires international solidarity and a multifaceted approach – among the many tools we must use, we must also tackle the underlying conditions that provide violent extremist groups the opportunity to take root. Immediate security issues must be addressed,” he emphasized.

“Through our collective efforts, we must ensure that all counterterrorism actions and policies are consistent with international human rights and humanitarian laws. As the custodian of the Charter of the United Nations, I want to emphasize that all measures must be fully in line with the goals and values and principles of the United Nations,” he concluded.