The United Nations has warned that terrorist groups in northern Nigeria, West Africa and the Sahel are increasingly using drones, sophisticated communications and cryptocurrencies to coordinate and finance cross‑border operations.
Leonardo Simão, the UN secretary‑general’s special representative for West Africa and the Sahel and head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), made the warning in a briefing to the UN Security Council. He presented the secretary‑general’s latest report covering the period from Nov. 29, 2025, to June 30, 2026.
“Armed groups are increasingly using drones, sophisticated communications and cryptocurrencies while coordinating operations across borders,” Simão said, adding that their activities are becoming closely linked with transnational organised crime as they seek territorial and economic control and aim to erode public confidence in state institutions.
The problem is particularly acute in the central Sahel and northern Nigeria, he said, where Nigeria, Niger and Burkina Faso continue to suffer terrorist attacks, kidnappings and heavy civilian casualties. The UN report estimates some 6.8 million people have been displaced across the region, with another 1.28 million registered as refugees or asylum seekers. Women, children and young people bear the brunt of the humanitarian crisis, Simão said, noting that insecurity and funding shortfalls have limited humanitarian access.
The briefing coincided with the Security Council’s review of the political, security and humanitarian situation in West Africa and the Sahel, and followed the council’s decision to extend UNOWAS’s mandate until Jan. 31, 2029.
Despite the deteriorating security picture, Simão pointed to renewed regional cooperation as a hopeful sign. He cited the reopening of the Kamba border crossing between Nigeria and Niger and progress by the Cameroon‑Nigeria Mixed Commission in implementing the 2002 International Court of Justice judgment on the countries’ land and maritime boundary as examples of constructive dialogue.
Simão warned that military operations alone will not eliminate terrorism. “Fighting poverty and vulnerability must therefore remain a common objective in the broader fight against terrorism,” he said, urging governments to address the socio‑economic drivers of violent extremism.
He also said the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has renewed efforts to operationalise its standby force but remains constrained by limited funding.
