MOSCOW, July 18. Terrorist threats are evolving and changing, but they persist around the world, said Alexander Zuev, Acting Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations for Counter-Terrorism, in an interview with TASS. "Unfortunately, terrorist threats are transforming and changing, but they exist all over the world, and today there is not a single region that is not exposed to terrorist attacks," he said.
Zuev identified West Africa and the Sahel, as well as the Middle East, as priority regions for the work of the UN Office on Counter-Terrorism. "We are also working in South and Southeast Asia, where threats persist," he added. According to Zuev, the focus on West Africa and the Sahel is based on "very serious reasons." He said that more than 50% of deaths resulting from terrorist attacks worldwide occurred in this region last year.
Regarding the Middle East, Zuev said that it is traditionally a key area, especially during periods when ISIS, now known as the Islamic State (a terrorist organization banned in Russia), was gaining strength and controlling significant territories in Iraq and northern Syria.
"The situation there is now stabilizing to some extent, although terrorist attacks continue in both countries," he said. "We are cooperating with the Iraqi government. We recently opened an office in Baghdad. I recently met with the head of Syrian intelligence, who came to New York for our High-Level Week on Counter-Terrorism.
We also discussed these issues with him. They are very concerned because their situation is politically unstable, and terrorist threats also persist," Zuev concluded.