The chair of the House Homeland Security Committee says Africa will be the next “hot spot” for Islamic extremism, amid growing concern about Islamic State migration and recruitment after US-led forces in Iraq and Syria reclaimed the group's so-called caliphate in the Middle East.
“They seek ungoverned territories and safe havens,” Republican Congressman Michael Thomas McCaul, Sr. said Wednesday. “Africa is going to be the spot, it's going to be the hot spot.”
Speaking at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said keeping track of where Islamic State fighters are fleeing is a “priority” for his department.
He added that part of the African continent, especially northeastern Nigeria and Libya, have appeared to be a “landing place” for IS militants. He stressed, however, that Africa's extremism problem cannot be solved by “military action alone,” emphasizing that good governance is important to help fulfill the needs of people across the continent.
With young populations and high unemployment, Congressman Adam Kinzinger said Wednesday that African nations have become the “prime recruiting pool for terrorist groups.”