United Nations: UN Chief Antonio Guterres expressed his concern of possible terrorist attack during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“While the COVID-19 pandemic is first and foremost a health crisis, its implications are much more far-reaching. The pandemic also poses a significant threat to the maintenance of international peace and security — potentially leading to an increase in social unrest and violence that would greatly undermine our ability to fight the disease,” Antonio Guterres said in his briefing to the UNSC.
He said that while the governments are engaged in activities related to coronavirus in respective countries, the terrorist groups can take an advantage to strike.
“The weaknesses and lack of preparedness exposed by this pandemic provide a window onto how a bio-terrorist attack might unfold – and may increase its risks. Non-state groups could gain access to virulent strains that could pose similar devastation to societies around the globe,” he said.
“Terrorist groups may see a window of opportunity to strike while the attention of most governments is turned towards the pandemic,” Guterres said.
