STORY: African leaders have called for an innovative approach to fighting violent extremism on the continent - including setting up a standby military force.
Groups linked to Islamic State and al-Qaeda have increasingly been carrying out routine attacks.
That includes in the Sahel region, Somalia and Mozambique.
At a security summit in Nigeria on Monday (April 23), African Union Commission chairperson Moussa Faki said the continent needs more funds.
"We cannot understand that U.N. missions continue to absorb, every year, billions of dollars, producing very modest results, and that the African states are not granted a minimum of resources to counter the tragic spread of terrorism."
Faki said that the number of daily attacks and deaths rose last year to eight and 44 respectively.
That's up from four daily attacks and 18 daily deaths between 2017 and 2021.
In total, he said, 7,000 civilians and 4,000 military personnel died last year, adding that the situation was being exploited in countries as a basis for military coups.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu called for the establishment of a regional standby force whose mandate includes tackling terrorism - though said he was mindful of "funding, legal and logistical complexities".
"...such a force must have as a rapid deployment mechanism, capable of swiftly responding to major threats, and bolstering the security of our region."
Tinubu also said greater efforts were needed to halt the proliferation of small arms and weapons.
