WHILE the Middle East, South Asia and now, increasingly, Europe feature prominently in discussions about transnational Islamist militancy, one region that has been relatively neglected in the debate is Africa.

But as the recent assault on a luxury hotel in Bamako, capital of Mali, by militants reportedly belonging to a local Al Qaeda affiliate shows, parts of the African continent are quite vulnerable to the threat of militancy.

Over 20 people were killed in the nine-hour siege on Friday in the Malian city. Guests from a number of countries were lodged in the hotel when the militants struck.

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This is not Mali’s first brush with religiously inspired militancy; in 2013, radical Islamist fighters tried to take over the vast West African country and were only halted due to French military intervention.

Mali is not alone where the presence of Salafi ‘jihadists’ is concerned. Across Africa — especially in its northern half — an array of such groups is involved in insurgencies of varying degrees of intensity.

In western Africa, Al Qaeda-linked groups as well as the bloodthirsty Boko Haram outfit maintain a presence. In the north, again Al Qaeda’s affiliates operate in the countries of the Maghreb, while fighters loyal to the militant Islamic State group hold sway in Egypt’s Sinai.

In the Horn of Africa, Al Shabaab based in Somalia has been responsible for some of the deadliest violence in the region.

Africa has suffered much due to repressive dictatorships, corrupt autocracies, tribal and ethnic bloodshed and border disputes among states.

The continent does not need an additional source of instability in the form of jihadist groups to further rock the boat. These murderous outfits have spilled the blood of hundreds of Africans; if allowed to establish themselves across parts of the continent they will further terrorise its people, along with destabilising regions located near Africa.

That is why the African Union should take up the issue and formulate a continent-wide strategy to battle the menace of militancy.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2015