30 April 2026
Terrorist groups in West Africa increasingly employ sophisticated financial strategies and operations, relying on ecosystems that draw from both licit and illicit economic activities. In addition to informal market exploitation, these groups also benefit from cross-border smuggling networks and cash-intensive transactional systems. These operations are adaptive and resilient, often circumventing counterterrorism efforts by governments and partners in the region.
These substantial challenges thus underscore the need for updated and context-specific approaches to countering the financing of terrorism (CFT). To help enhance states’ abilities to identify, investigate, and prosecute terrorism financing, the West Africa Capacity-Building Working Group (WAWG) – co-chaired by Algeria and Germany; supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime – organized an in-person meeting in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Gathering government officials, regional and international organizations, practitioners, and subject matter experts, the meeting aimed to strengthen collective understanding of emerging terrorist financing risks and operational responses in West Africa. Through focused panel discussions and interactive breakout sessions, participants exchanged insights on developments, challenges, and effective responses to terrorism financing.
Moreover, participants discussed the evolving adaptation of terrorist groups operating in the region. Several areas of improvement were identified including the strengthening of legal and institutional CFT frameworks, the enhancement of intelligence collection and analysis, bolstered inter-agency and cross-border cooperation, and expanded investigative and judicial capacities to address terrorist financing in several contexts.
CFT was identified as a priority area of the WAWG’s 2024-2026 Work Plan. Under the Algeria-Germany mandate, the co-chairs aim to continue working with governments, organizations, and agencies in the region to effectively prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism.