North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
US-Niger relations face uncertainty, with Niamey’s pivot to Russia
Audio version: The news: The visit a few days ago of a US government delegation to Niamey, the capital of Niger, did not go down well with the ruling junta there. Clearly as the junta is paving the way for the Russian military to enter Niger and expand their presence...
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Egypt: One killed, six arrested in gun battle on Egypt-Israel border
A gunfire broke out near Nitzana, Israel, along the border crossing separating Egypt and Israel. The incident, which involved more than a dozen people, resulted in the death of one person. Six people were arrested. The Egyptian authorities insist that the incident was...
Egypt’s economy hit hard by Houthis’ attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea
The US and the UK hitting Houthi targets in Yemen is largely the result of a sense of panic taking place in commercial and business circles. The Houthis have clearly identified that there is a choke point that they can squeeze even more to get their positions heard....
Burkina Faso government says year-end army offensive killed hundreds of “terrorists” ($)
In a year-end offensive carried out by the Burkina Faso military from December 23, 2023 to January 2, 2024 in the East and Center-East regions, involving air and land assets, allegedly claimed the lives of 360 suspected terrorists. Authorities say terror chief Oumarou...
Sahel: Mali acquires lethal drones from Turkey
On January 4, 2024, the Malian military acquired six Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones. The military authorities say the drones will be used to “surveil the national territory, detect suspicious targets, track them and strike them, if necessary, with surgical precision.” ...
Four Mauritanian gold miners were killed last weekend near Gleibat El Foula ($)
Morocco-Mauritania relations: Tensions after killing by drone of Mauritanian civilians
The Moroccan media said the Mauritanian authorities have abruptly increase by 171% the customs duties applied to Moroccan goods entering Mauritania through the border site of El Guerguerat, at the southern tip of the Western Sahara. In its X account (formerly known as...
Tunisia neutralizes human smugglers
The Tunisian police reported on January 7, 2024 the dismantling of an alleged human trafficking network in the Sfax region. Authorities say the gang facilitated the illegal movement in and out of the Tunisian territory of sub-Saharan migrants. The operation consisted...
Sahel: Burkina Faso ratchets up war effort with new army units and taxes for voluntary militia
The North Africa Journal - The new year began in earnest in Burkina Faso, with fresh efforts from the government to create new units and tackle funding for volunteer militiamen. The country has been facing a devastating insurgency and has a military junta that appears...
Egypt intercepts drone of unknown origin in Sinai as region remains destabilized
@northafricajournal #Egypt downs #drone in #Sinai Peninsula near #Israel ♬ original sound - The North Africa Journal The Egyptian air force shot down a drone off the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday down the coast from the Israeli border, state-linked media reported....
Rising Storms: The Pact Uniting Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Against Jihadists and Isolation
The military rulers of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have banded together in a joint defence pact to fight jihadists and present a united political front in their declared aim to restore sovereignty. Against a backdrop of a bloody jihadist insurgency in West Africa's...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Burkina Faso: Attackers kill civilians in the Sahel Province
An armed attack in northern Burkina Faso, an area plagued by jihadist violence, has left about 10 civilians dead, security and local sources told AFP on Thursday. A large group of armed men descended on the village of Sampelga, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the...
Mali: MINUSMA convoy attacked near Gao
Armed men attacked a logistics convoy of the UN mission in the north of Mali on Thursday, a source at the UN peacekeeping mission told AFP. "Unidentified armed individuals opened fire against a logistics convoy of the Minusma force moving from the (locality of)...
Mali: Civilians killed by terrorists in Gabero region
At least 13 civilians have been killed by suspected jihadists in chronically unstable northern Mali, elected officials who requested anonymity said on Wednesday. "The provisional toll is now 13 dead, a dozen wounded and hundreds of people fleeing several villages in...
Sahel: Al-Qaeda-linked group claims deadly Mali attack on UN peacekeepers
An Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group on Tuesday claimed responsibility for an attack last week in Mali's deeply troubled north that killed two United Nations peacekeepers. Mali has been grappling with a political and security crisis since 2012 when separatist and...
Sahel: Second UN peacekeeper dies after attack in Mali
A UN peacekeeper has died of wounds sustained in an attack last week in Mali, raising the death toll in the assault to two, the United Nations said Monday. Mali has been grappling with a political and security crisis since 2012 when separatist and jihadist rebellions...
Mali: Attack in Tombouctou claims life of UN peacekeeper
Today, 09/06, one of our patrols near #Ber town, North of #Mali was targeted by a complex attack. It encountered an Improvised Explosive Device followed by a direct arm fire attack . Preliminary information: 1 #peacekeeper killed and 4 seriously injured. Updates will...
Bourkina Faso: 50 insurgents killed in Loroum as they tried to ambush food convoy
Two civilians and at least 50 "terrorists" were killed in jihadist-hit northern Burkina Faso when a food convoy being escorted by troops was ambushed, the armed forces said on Thursday. The incident happened on Wednesday near Tibou in Loroum province bordering Mali,...
Sahel: Another bloody Sunday in Burkina Faso
More than a dozen people, thought to be mostly shepherds, have been killed in an attack in eastern Burkina Faso, security and local sources told AFP on Monday. On Sunday "several dozen terrorists attacked the outskirts of Kompienga" -- the capital of the province of...
Burkina Faso: At least 12 civilians killed in northern village of Kiè
At least twelve civilians were killed in an attack by suspected jihadists in an area of western Burkina Faso bordering Mali, a local official and residents told AFP on Saturday. The village of Kie was attacked by "unidentified armed individuals on Friday evening", a...
Sahel: More terror attacks on civilians in Burkina Faso
Around 40 people have been killed in a fresh wave of attacks in Burkina Faso, in areas where jihadist attacks are rife, sources said on Friday. In the most recent violence, around 20 people were killed in a series of raids on villages in Burkina Faso's troubled north,...