King Abdullah of the Saudi Kingdom has donated a whopping US$16.5 billion to the war chest for fighting the increasing terrorism in Africa.
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Secretary-General Iyad Ameen Madani disclosed this recently in his speech at the AU Heads of State meeting in Dar el Salam in which he dissociated the OIC from acts of terrorism perpetrated by adherents of any faith.
The OIC, he pledged, was ready to join the Peace and Security Council of the AU in the fight against terrorism.
“We are not supporting terrorism incidents, which are a reason for loss of life of majority of people; Islam has nothing to do with acts of terror perpetrated by Al-Qaeda and Boko Haram.
“Since we are against violence in the region, we have decided to join forces with AU leaders in the fight against terrorism and Saudi King Abdullah has injected 16.5bn/- towards the war.
The meeting, attended by 15 African heads of state, including President Jakaya Kikwete, agreed to join forces with OIC to fight terrorism, with the OIC pledging to offer training on various techniques for fighting terrorism.
The meeting was also attended by United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and chiefs of defence forces from AU member states.
Tanzania’s Ambassador to Ethiopia where the AU headquarters is located, Ms Naimi Aziz, had earlier said that it was high time such threats were checked to make the continent more peaceful.
She was of the opinion that since threats to security were on the increase, the council has decided to convene the meeting to discuss the best ways to fight terrorism.
The meeting was sequel to a week’s meeting of the chief of defence forces from AU member states in Mombasa, Kenya, which discussed how to counter the threat of terrorism in the region.