Countries must urgently cooperate to halt the spread of violent extremism around the globe, the United Nations said Tuesday, ahead of a high-level conference focused on preventing dangerous radicalization. 
Jehangir Khan, head of the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre, warned that the problem of violent extremism was "mushrooming" and constituted a "clear and present danger" worldwide. 
He noted that tens of thousands of foreign fighters, coming from more than 100 different countries, have flooded into conflict zones like Syria and Iraq, while home-grown extremists have wreaked havoc in Europe with deadly attacks like the ones recently in Brussels. 
"Everybody is potentially affected by violent extremism. Nobody is spared," Khan said, insisting that "the need for international cooperation has never been more than now." The UN will on Thursday and Friday co-host with Switzerland a conference with on preventing violent extremism, drawing some 30 government ministers.

Source: QNA