UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called for regional unity to fight terrorism in West Africa and the Sahel.

The security situation in West Africa and the Sahel is growing more critical by the day, he told a Security Council meeting on peace consolidation in West Africa.

This regional crisis demands a regional response, one that is unified, coherent and consensus based, Guterres said, adding that now is the time for dialogue and collaboration among all countries to strengthen the security and political cooperation architecture in the region.

Guterres also warned of the lack of dedicated financial resources to coordinate an appropriate regional response to terrorism, as well as the lack of strong financial support for humanitarian response plans in the region.

There is also a need for a coherent development strategy to address the root causes of terrorism, he said.

Terrorists thrive where the social contract is broken, Guterres said, adding that when families are trapped in poverty and young people have no access to education or work, extremism gains ground. When governance fails, where development stalls, where public services break down, where human rights are violated, where communities are marginalized, where citizens no longer have faith in their institutions, terrorists are finding ways to exploit people's grievances, he noted.

"Repairing these fractures, investing in broad-based development, and transforming despair into opportunity is our strongest defense against radicalization," he said. Enditem