An attack by the ISIS-linked Allied Democratic Forces on a school in Uganda last week was a cruel affirmation that after ISIS’s sustained retreats from strongholds in Iraq and Syria, its regional affiliates continue to exploit grievances and weak governance elsewhere to advance their sadistic brand of terror.
But, while the threat of ISIS in the Middle East appears to have abated for the moment, the region remains highly vulnerable. An ongoing climate crisis in this hot, parched land – where temperatures are rising at almost double the rates seen elsewhere – is exacerbating fragility and conflict risks. Newly collected data from Iraq suggests that ISIS – and other armed groups – may have historically benefited from the climate crisis, and a resurgent group, or others, may try to do so again.
Read more of the original article published in The National News here.