African Union warns nations about returning fighters

A cadre of up to 6,000 Africans who fought for ISIL in Iraq and Syria could return home, the African Union’s most senior security official said, calling on countries to prepare for the threat.

Smail Chergui, the AU’s commissioner for peace and security, said African nations would need to work closely with each other and share intelligence to counter the potential threat posed by returning militants.

“There are reports of 6,000 African fighters among the 30,000 foreign elements who joined this terrorist group in the Middle East,” Mr Chergui told a meeting in Algiers.

“The return of these elements to Africa poses a serious threat to our national security and stability and requires specific treatment and intense co-operation between African countries,” he said.

Tens of thousands of foreign fighters joined the extremist group after it seized vast areas of Iraq and Syria and declared a “caliphate” in 2014. But it has suffered significant military and territorial losses in the past year. Backed by a US-led coalition, Iraqi forces gradually retook control of all territory lost to the extremists.

In Syria, the group faces western-backed Syrian rebels, rivals and government forces that are supported by Russia and Iran. The losses have sparked fears that ISIL’s remaining foreign fighters may now relocate, taking their extremist ideology and violence with them.

Tens of thousands of foreign fighters joined ISIL, but many may now be returning home