Maghreb Edition
The North Africa Journal – November 19, 2018: Algeria is having some diplomatic kerfuffle with France and Switzerland these days. With the French, the feud is about new limitations in issuing Schengen visas to Algerian members of parliament. With the Swiss, the resurrection of a legal case against a former Algerian top general, Khaled Nezzar, is irking Algiers.
What’s happening to the Fulani in the Sahel isn’t just war — it’s collective punishment. This is the story no one wants to tell.
Algeria has reclaimed its position as Spain’s leading natural gas supplier, with bilateral trade surging after a two-year diplomatic freeze. This economic rebound highlights the strategic importance of the energy link that endured despite significant political tensions.
Despite the wave of coups d’état in West Africa, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had close ties to the ousted regimes of Guinea, Mali, and Niger, has successfully protected his country’s interests in the region. He has done so through a strategy that combines drone diplomacy with business interests.
On August 7, 2025, unidentified men attempted to forcefully enter the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) offices in Tunis, calling for its dissolution, a day after President Kaïs Saïed, in reaction to a transport sector strike, had publicly accused union members of “treason.”
