PSC/AHG/COM.(DCCXLIX) 3 Page terrorism, violent extremism and radicalization. In this regard, Council welcomes his nomination as the Leader on the Thorny Issue of Combating Terrorism and Violent Extremism in Africa and congratulates him for the achievements made to date regarding this important subject; 12. Takes note of the progress made by the AU Commission in implementing Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.614 establishing the AU Special Fund on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism and Violent Extremism in Africa adopted by the 27th Ordinary Session of the Assembly held in Kigali, in July 2016, and calls upon Member States and international partners to make contributions to the Fund, once it is operationalized; 13. Expresses deep concern over the threat posed by the return of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) from conflict zones outside the continent back to their countries of origin in Africa, or to other Member States, where they may seek refuge with other terrorist groups on the ground. In this regard, Council requests the AU Commission and partners to continue to assist Member States in building and further strengthening their national capacities, in order to enable them to more effectively deal with this threat; 14. Calls upon Member States to take the required measures to dry up the flow of terrorism financing, by cutting the links between terrorist organizations and organized crime, including trafficking, smuggling and illicit trade. In this regard, Council underscores the need for continued enhancement of cooperation between and among national security and intelligence agencies of Member States, particularly financial intelligence units, in order to enable them to more effectively combat all forms of financial crimes, such as money laundering and the payment of ransom to terrorist groups. In the same context, Council urges Member States to pay particular attention to the exploitation of charity organizations as a cover to promote terrorism; 15. Calls for the mobilization of all the components of the African Peace and Security Architecture in efforts aimed at preventing and combatting terrorism in Africa. In this respect, Council stresses the need to strengthen cross border cooperation and information sharing between Member States’ Intelligence Units, including within the framework of the Nouakchott and Djibouti processes, the different regional fusion centers and AFRIPOL; 16. Further calls for the immediate operationalization of the Sub-Committee on Counter Terrorism; 17. Recalls paragraph 16(a) of the Plan of Action of the African Union High-Level InterGovernmental Meeting on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism, adopted in 2002, requesting for the development of a list of persons, groups and entities involved in terrorist acts, that will be publicized and regularly updated. In this regard, Council encourages the PSC Counter Terrorism Sub-Committee, once activated, to develop, with the facilitation of the AU