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Coronavirus pandemic

IS and Al-Qaeda using COVID-19 pandemic to their advantage, says UN official

Under Secretary General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov Mikhail Japaridze/TASS

Under Secretary General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov

© Mikhail Japaridze/TASS

UNITED NATIONS, July 6. /TASS/. The Islamic State and Al-Qaeda terrorist groups (both outlawed in Russia) are using the COVID-19 pandemic to spread propaganda, Under Secretary General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) Vladimir Voronkov said in an exclusive interview with TASS.

"In the past months, we have seen that ISIL (former name of the IS - TASS) and Al-Qaeda have attempted to use the pandemic to spread propaganda," Voronkov said. "They have changed their propaganda to show the pandemic as a punishment for others," he added.

"Just like ISIL and Al-Qaeda, politically, ethnically and racially motivated terrorist groups have used fear and uncertainty caused by the pandemic to spread hate, conspiracy theories, anti-government sentiments and incitement to attacks on minorities and law enforcement," the UN official continued. He added that terrorists are trying to use "the disappointment in the government’s actions and restrictions introduced due to the pandemic to delegitimize the government.".

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