ALGIERS, Algeria, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- African Union peace and security commissioner Said Djinnit is calling for more surveillance for what he calls a permanent al-Qaida presence in Africa.

Djinnit says that terrorists are able to move easily from one African country to another in what he describes as a permanent establishment of the al-Qaida terror network in Africa, the El Khabar reported.

"Al-Qaida now has a stable presence in Africa," Djinnit said in a statement. "This problem needs to be tackled. It is disingenuous and wrong to ignore it. The first time al-Qaida struck Africa was in Kenya and Tanzania 10 years ago.

"Now the African continent has a security problem, which affects above sub-Saharan countries. It needs to be dealt with via surveillance of their borders, where arms and drug trafficking is flourishing."

Al-Qaida leader bin Laden' title='Osama bin Laden' class='tpstyle'>Osama bin Laden gained international attention in Africa for his connection to embassy bombings in the 1990s. Since then Djinnit says Somalia and Sudan have become a gateway for terrorists planning operations in Chad, Niger, Mali and Mauritania and that the two countries pose a great danger to the region.

"To rise to this challenge, we need first of all to understand the complexity of the phenomenon and the nature of the threat."