BENJI SHULMAN: The centre of international terrorism has moved to the heart of Africa

Much of the media focus of late has been on SA’s presence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its engagement with the M23 rebels and Rwandan authorities. The M23 threat has been a deadly problem for SA soldiers but it is not the only threat emanating from the region.

On February 13, militants rounded up 70 Christians in Lubero in the eastern DRC. They were taken to a church in a neighbouring town, where all 70 were brutally murdered. Reports indicate that victims were bound, and many beheaded. The perpetrators are believed to be members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan rebel group with ties to Islamic State (IS), which has been operating in the DRC for years. 

According to Open Doors, a Christian monitoring group, the ADF went door to door, abducting 20 Christians and adding them to 50 other hostages. The captives were then taken to a Protestant church in nearby Kananga, where they were slaughtered with machetes and hammers. Vatican News, citing reports from the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), confirmed the attack. The victims included women, children and the elderly. The ACN stated that the massacre was intended to instil fear and exert control over the local population. 

The ADF has a long history of abducting hostages for forced labour and reinforcements. Among the 70 victims, observers believe some were probably killed because they were unable to keep up with a forced march to a new destination. Open Doors also reported that, even days after the attack, families had not been able to bury their dead due to ongoing insecurity in the region.

The ADF’s presence in the DRC is not new. A report from the Hoover Institution notes that between 2007 and 2010, the ADF coexisted relatively peacefully with local communities in eastern Congo. However, between 2010 and 2011, the group began targeting civilians to prevent them from supporting Congolese military operations. This escalation of violence culminated in the ADF’s pledge of allegiance to IS in about 2015. Since then, it has carried out a series of brutal massacres, with IS formally claiming its first attack on behalf of the organisation in 2019. 

The ADF’s transformation from a minor insurgency into a full-fledged international terror organisation is not an isolated phenomenon. A report from the Middle East Africa Research Institute highlights a troubling trend: Africa has become the epicentre of global terror casualties, accounting for as much as half of all terrorist-related deaths in some years. Moreover, terrorism has been steadily shifting southward. While the Middle East and North Africa region has historically been the primary target of jihadist violence, more southern parts of Africa are now at increasing risk. Countries such as Nigeria, Somalia, Mozambique and those in the Sahel have become key nodes of terrorist activity, with surges now being noted in Central African countries like the DRC as well.

The tactics employed in these attacks mirror those used against civilians and minorities like the Yazidi in Iraq and Syria, and against Israeli civilians during the October 7 Hamas attacks. The ADF and similar groups engage in church burnings, beheadings, kidnappings, suicide bombings, torture, rape, forced marriages and the recruitment of child soldiers. Their targets extend beyond religious groups like Christians, encompassing government officials, aid workers, and even fellow Muslims who do not share their Jihadi perspective. The ideological justifications for these attacks are at their core, the same as those proffered by groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

The expansion of terrorism into the heart of Africa poses significant risks to continental trade and security. Somalia, already a stronghold for terrorist activity, has long been a base for piracy and a threat to shipping through the Horn of Africa. In Mozambique, terrorist attacks in the northern Cabo Delgado region have forced major oil and gas companies to withdraw their investments, disrupting a crucial sector of the economy. This region is also home to graphite mines that supply major corporations like Tesla. Furthermore, the instability created by terrorism opens power vacuums, allowing authoritarian regimes such as Russia and Iran to extend their influence. Where terrorism takes root, mass displacement follows — more than
1-million people have fled Cabo Delgado alone.

The Hoover Institution emphasises that financial networks are a key factor in sustaining Islamist terror groups in Africa. IS cells in SA and Somalia fund their operations through extortion, robbery, and illicit financial transactions that are then funnelled into the rest of the continent. SA authorities recently arrested a man suspected of purchasing bitcoin to finance terrorism. At the University of Cape Town, individuals and organisations on internationally designated terror watch lists have been invited to address student gatherings. SA is now seen as a global hub for terror financing without the proper measures to track the flows of illicit funds. As a result, it has been placed on the Financial Action Task Force greylist, leading to authorities starting to crack down. Recently the department of social development announced that it was  investigating 50 SA NGOs for funding terrorist-related activities.

Allowing terror networks to flourish in Africa would be a grave mistake. Left unchecked, they could create widespread chaos on the continent, sacrificing Africans’ lives and livelihoods. Taking action now to disrupt the flow of illicit money and weapons while confronting Islamist movements head-on is not just vital for SA — it is imperative for continental security. 

• Shulman is director of the Middle East Africa Research Institute.