What effect will the war in Syria have on Africa?

By Peter Marco

When you listen to different debates, views, politicians and communicators you get to know the problems the World is facing and mainly the African continent due to the War in Syria and its outcome.

The main problem facing Africa is terrorism and radicalisation of young African Muslims who are participating in the war or just reading and watching what’s going on inside Syria.    

Africa suffered a lot due to terrorism and wars that are brought about due to fundamentalism with extreme views on how the World and the continent must be governed or which religion must be popular.      

When mass terror first strike and kill innocent civilians it was in Africa, the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998 where bombed by extremist, the suffering in Somalia is caused by extremism which has been going on for many years leaving many people dead.    The killing of innocent civilians due to their religious believes by Boka Haram in Nigeria. The conflicts in Northern Mali by Ansar Dine and its Al-Qaeda ally. The Armed Islamic Group, known by its French acronym, GIA from Algeria that has been waging terror since 1990 leaving many people dead,  

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb in Niger, Ansar al-Shari'a in Darnah in Tunisia and Libya. Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group and many more others that have caused the people of Africa to suffer a lot.

When you speak to Somali nationals and ask why Al Shabaab is killing innocent people the answer is because they have access to cheap gun, training and funding to continue causing the suffering. The main reason is that they can get access to all this due to the instability in Yemen where they can travel from the coast easily and get the necessary material and information that they need.

Many people cite Somaliland there they have peace and no fighting due to the reason that they are not near Yemen where they can acquire guns to use. The reason is due to foreign guns and funding many terrorist groups find it easy to wage a war against people because they have the support.

The war in Syria will just increase that support to them because many of the Mujahedeen fighters that are fighting in Syria they are part of the well-established Africa terror cells and groups which are going back to Africa when the war ends.

But what will they bring back to our Motherland Africa and what influence will they have to the young people on the continent. The same fighters who are fighting in Syria many of them are Africans; they have gained training from other groups such Special Purpose Islamic Regiment, Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade all Chechens, Al-Badhr Mujahedeen (al-Badr) From Pakistani, Al-Qaida in Iraq and Levant, Nusra Front and other Jihadists groups. Africa must be worried when the fighters’ comeback home with their extreme views and radicalisation, reports from different news channels say that Egyptian fighters who have been fighting in Syria are going back home to start the Jihad which will be disaster for Egypt.

Africa as a Continent through the Africa Union and the United Nations must strongly inform and condemn Saudi Arabia and Qatar to stop supporting the Jihad fighters in Syria who are going to cause trouble in Africa when they go back, and the West must be informed the consequences that might happen when they continued providing arms and training to the fighter in Syria in which many are Africans that will cause problems to the Continent when the war ends.

Africa cannot suffer again because we have suffered enough due to extremism and terror. The impact of Syrian war on Africa will be something that we will regret, if we do not act and speak out. It will be Africa to pick up the pieces when the war ends,

Some of the fighters in Syria are Al Shabaab, Boka Haram, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and African Mujahedeen who are a threat to the continent, its high time Africa speaks out before it’s too late. The War in Syria will have a big impact on Africa as a continent before we even know, beside the refuges who are flooding into the continent.