Algiers, Algeria (PANA) – The popular protests that rocked the Arab world known as the “Arab Spring” have helped to strengthen the ideological influence of terrorist groups, Ramtane Lamamra, Algerian Foreign Minister, said on Tuesday in Algiers.
The observation of the head of the Algerian diplomacy was contained in a speech read by the Director of the America Department at the Algerian Foreign Ministry at the opening of a conference on “Border threats in North Africa.”
“Cross-border terrorist threats have become more complex, especially in the regions of North Africa and the Sahel,” Lamamra said, adding that the area of insecurity had expanded to North Africa, the Sahel and West Africa, where criminals and terrorist groups operated.
Terrorist groups Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb and Ansar Al-Sharia have been operating in North Africa and the Maghreb while Boko Haram is entrenching itself in northeastern Nigeria.
Lamamra said the war in Libya resulted in significant flow of arms to North Africa and the Sahel, stressing the need for countries to continue to coordinate their actions in the “war against terrorism and related crimes” because “terrorist groups receive support allowing them to adapt to all situations”.
The symposium will continue for three days during which participants will discuss a series of questions related to terrorist threats in the region.
There are some 60 experts and Algerian, American, Tunisian, Moroccan, Libyan, Mauritanian and Egyptian professors attending the conference.
