EVEN in an era where mass-casualty attacks have become an unfortunate norm, Saturday’s bombing in the Somali capital Mogadishu was an atrocity of immense proportions. Over 300 people were killed while many more were injured as a truck bomb went off in a busy part of the capital, reportedly targeting the Somali foreign ministry. Somali officials have blamed the atrocity on Al Shabaab, a terrorist group with links to Al Qaeda, though the outfit itself had not, up until the time of writing, claimed the attack. In the murky world of terrorism, militants are quick to claim such attacks and gloat over them; in fact, the militant Islamic State group has been known to claim attacks with no ostensible link to it, such as the recent Las Vegas slaughter. Therefore, a thorough investigation is required to get to the bottom of this attack, and bring the perpetrators to justice.

As extremist militants have indulged in mass slaughter across the Middle East, Europe, South Asia and other parts of the globe, Africa seems to have fallen off the radar. However, as the Mogadishu bombing clearly illustrates, terrorist groups can strike in parts of the continent with lethal results. Al Shabaab has been active in Somalia for nearly a decade, while that country has not witnessed internal stability for nearly three decades, creating large ungoverned spaces where militants have thrived. Elsewhere in Africa, Boko Haram in Nigeria, and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, along with Ansar Dine in Mali, have played key roles in destabilising their respective regions and shedding innocent blood. What is needed is a pan-African approach to fighting militancy, with the African Union in the lead. The AU is active in Somalia, but clearly greater efforts are needed to fight the existential threat of militancy. Africa needs peace and security to uplift the conditions of the millions that inhabit its vast expanses. Critical to stability is countering the threat posed by extremist groups.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2017