UN Chief Says Daesh Spreading Like Cancer, Urges Cooperation to Prevent Extremism

GENEVA- “Daesh and all the extremist terrorist groups are spreading like a cancer around the world,” United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told reporters on the sidelines of a high-level conference on preventing violent extremism in Geneva on Friday, urging greater cooperation to prevent extremism and terror outfits

Earlier on Friday, Ban demanded a comprehensive and in-depth review of strategies to counter the growing threat from Daesh and other terrorist groups, acccording to press TV.

 “Evidence shows that security and military responses alone cannot defeat this scourge,” he said, urging preventive measures to avoid the spread of terrorism.

He called on the participating countries to draw up national plans based on the recommendations presented by the United Nations in its plan to stop the growth of violent extremism and terrorism.

The UN chief also expressed the international organization’s concern over the terrorists’ ability to get chemical weapon and the component necessary to produce such a weapon.

De Mistura Urges halting terrorism funding

On his part, the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan De Mistura called for cutting the financial resources funding ISIS terrorist organization which commits horrible crimes against innocent people.

De Mistura stressed that members of the work team of the Syria Support Group are “satisfied over Moscow’s efforts to fight ISIS in Syria. .

Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, who was present at the event, said, “Preventing violent extremism means stepping up efforts to promote the rule of law, human rights and, in armed conflicts, international humanitarian law.”

Countries also need to “offer young people opportunities and render them unreceptive to the temptations of terrorism” through education and job opportunities, he told the conference.

The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, based in The Hague, said in its report published on Friday that Belgium, Britain, France and Germany contributed to the terrorism events  in Iraq and Syria by having 2,838 of their nationals traveling to those countries for joining terror groups. Most of those militants came from urban areas or peripheral suburbs of the European cities.

Hamda Mustafa