大象传媒

Many of the world's foreign ministers are meeting today in Rome to discuss the growing threat of IS, or the Islamic State group, in Africa.

The 大象传媒's security correspondent Frank Gardner says the meeting of the 'Global Coalition Against Daesh' is a recognition of the 'phoenix-like' rebirth of the group after their defeat over two years ago in Syria - as it exploits poverty, poor governance and porous borders on the continent.

He says while the central leadership remains in the Middle East, there is no single unified strategy in Africa:

"It's basically opportunistic - it's a marriage of convenience. There's not a lot of ideology going on in Africa, it's more about economic opportunity and coercion. So Islamic State will sweep into a village and basically convert people at gunpoint and burn down the village. And yet bizarrely, in other parts, they're actually helping farmers dig wells and sew crops."

Photo: Internally displaced people after insurgents attacked Palma, Mozambique. Credit: AFP)

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