Migration and Terrorism in North Africa

Terrorism has become a global challenge for the twenty-first century as it might appear anywhere in the world, at any time and endanger anyone. The link between migration—especially illegal and uncontrolled migration—and terrorism is also a pretty new phenomenon. In the twenty-first century, both pose a serious security challenge for the Sahel, North and East Africa and the entire Mediterranean Basin. This is precisely the same area where millions are migrating towards the north in order to enter the European Union as their ultimate destination. In the 2000s, the volume of migration drastically increased in all parts of Africa, and most of the migrants were under 30. Violent extremist organizations operating in the region, such as the Jihadist AQIM, Boko Haram or Ansar Dine, etc., were taking advantage of this situation and abusing people’s hopelessness. In many cases, migrants end up in the arms of human traffickers, abduct unaccompanied children, train them as child soldiers or force them into child labour, and force young women into sex work or enslave them. It is also important to emphasize that people fleeing misery and severe armed conflict are mingled with terrorists, with the intention of hitting targets later on, also in Africa or in the EU. Their goal is fully clear: political and social destabilization, to increase chaos, moreover, to promote radical Islamism. The study explains this issue by examining North Africa and the Sahel district.