How the Taliban’s success in Afghanistan could threaten China’s interests in Africa

Groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria and al-Shabab in Somalia may seek to build ties with the Afghan group after the fall of Kabul

China’s extensive interests across the continent could be threatened, Beijing is unlikely to want to replace the US in a security role

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Published: 12:02am, 7 Sep 2021Updated: 5:20pm, 7 Sep 2021

The deadly terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, prompted an outcry from around the world: “We are all Americans.” Washington’s policies realigned around fighting terrorism and bilateral relationships strengthened or crumbled depending on where other governments stood. As part of a series about the legacy of September 11, Jevans Nyabiage looks at the implications for China in Africa from the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan.

Kabul may be thousands of miles from Africa but the impact of the Taliban’s capture of the Afghan capital is being felt throughout the continent, where concern is growing about the further expansion of Islamic extremism.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is among those who have warned that the Taliban’s victory may embolden terrorist groups in Africa, from Boko Haram in West Africa to al-Shabab in Somalia and a rising insurgency in Mozambique.

In Nigeria, Boko Haram has claimed more than 36,000 lives and displaced more than 3 million people in a decade as it seeks to create a “pure” Islamic state ruled under sharia law. The group, an affiliate of Islamic State, has frequently kidnapped civilians, particularly women and children.

“Africa is the new front line of global militancy,” Buhari wrote in an opinion piece in the Financial Times.

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“Mozambique is merely the latest African state in danger from terrorism,” he wrote. “The Sahel remains vulnerable to Boko Haram, 20 years after its formation, and other radical groups,” he said, referring to a semi-arid region in North Africa. “Somalia is in its second decade fighting the equally extreme al-Shabab.”

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How the Taliban’s success in Afghanistan could threaten China’s interests in Africa

Groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria and al-Shabab in Somalia may seek to build ties with the Afghan group after the fall of Kabul China’s extensive interests across the continent could be threatened, Beijing is unlikely to want to replace the US in a security role

Groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria and al-Shabab in Somalia may seek to build ties with the Afghan group after the fall of Kabul

China’s extensive interests across the continent could be threatened, Beijing is unlikely to want to replace the US in a security role