The recent rapid development of the situation on the Afghan soil gave rise to the fears that tensions could spill over to the borders to neighboring countries, especially with regard to the flow of refugees and the passage of militants and drug traffickers.

Afghanistan is bordered by Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to the north, Iran to the west, Pakistan to the east and south, and China to the north. All of these countries have border security issues and are considered the longest of these borders.

However, the biggest worry for the international community is that the example of the easy and fast power grab by Taliban will inspire other Islamist extremists to step up their efforts in gaining more ground. According to the experts, there is a very strong possibility that this tension will spread globally.

Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari has warned that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan does not mean that the war on terrorism is ending. He said that the threat had simply moved to a new front: Africa. He cited the growing threat of terrorist groups in Africa, from Boko Haram in Nigeria and the Sahel region to Al-Shabab in Somalia and the growing insurgency in Mozambique.  

Buhari highlighted that the Western allies, “wounded by their Middle Eastern and Afghan experience”, are now not neglecting Africa. The President of Nigeria said that Africa needs more than military assistance to defeat terrorism. Africa needs investment.

The presence of US forces in Afghanistan for more than 20 years failed to not be able to prevent the extremist Islamic invasion, given the recent invasion of Islamists across the country. The inability of the Western approach to peacekeeping and counterinsurgency to prevent the rise of extremist movements has resulted in corrosion of security situation all over the world: the examples are Syria and Libya, Mali and Nigeria.

According to peace observers, now the terrorists are gathering forces to move on Equatorial Guinea, a country with large oil deposits, that might become the basis for creation of another Islamic State sponsoring global terrorist activity.

International journalist and political observer Abbas Djuma compares the situation in Afghanistan with the recent conflict in the Central African Republic. Mr. Djuma believes that support of the Russian military specialists had literally saved the Republic from the Afghan scenario. He expressed this opinion in the context of a statement by Alexander Ivanov, the Head of the Officers Union for the International Security, who said their experts were closely following events in South Asia.

“Over two decades, the United States has spent billions of dollars on training, arms, and salaries for the Afghan security forces. Yet despite fine words, including directly from President Biden, after the Americans left, that country's troops collapsed in just a matter of weeks. The capital has already been taken, the leader has fled and the people are waiting for the unknown,” said Alexander Ivanov.

The work done by the Russian instructors in the Central African Republic made it possible for the national army of the Republic to withstand the onslaught of the insurgents and push back against the destabilizing forces.

As Alexander Ivanov writes, “FACA soldiers, who have been trained by our instructors for several years, bravely fought with superior forces of militants who received help from abroad. Even when the enemy was approaching Bangui 9 months ago, the soldiers and officers of the national army continued to fight, and President Touadera did not even think of leaving his people. He personally led the army and his confidence in victory inspired his people. As a result, the army forced the enemy to flee and chased them to the very borders. This is why now the long-awaited peace is now coming to the CAR”.

Various other countries have a positive experience in counter-terrorism cooperation with Russian military professionals. Moreover, the local populations note that the end of cooperation usually coincides with the regress in the security situation. For instance, the security situation in Syria has improved considerably after receiving Russian support, as a considerable part of Syrian territory was freed from extremist terrorist organizations.

However, Aram Media Network reports that after the withdrawal of the forces of the special Russian military unit from Deir ez-Zor, the sleeper cells of the Syrian Badia resumed their criminal activities in the area, as the terrorist organization ISIS took the opportunity to sow chaos and disorder and revive the so-called Islamic Emirate.

Russia has won many victories and today the situation has returned to normal in many African countries, such as the Central African Republic and other countries which have suffered from terrorist activities, although they have not had the money that were spent by the western powers in Kabul. The Russian professionalism, common sense and high morale proved to be the most efficient in the context of the fight against terrorism.