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Algeria: Major controversy over replacement of Sonatrach CEO
The North Africa Journal - March 20, 2017 - The CEO of the Algerian company Sonatrach is a very powerful man. Undoubtedly he has powers that exceed those of many ministers, and so appointing the right person should be no trivial exercise. Except that when politics...
New activity on the Western Sahara conflict, but no one knows where this is headed
The North Africa Journal - March 6, 2017 - The UN envoy to the Western Sahara Christopher Ross has handed over his resignation to the new UN chief Antonio Guterres. The news came days after Moroccan troops made a symbolic retreat from the contested area of...
Algeria: Massive weapons cache found near Niger border
MEA Risk Alert: March 5, 2017: The Algerian army has discovered, on 4 March, a massive weapons cache near the Nigerien border in In Guezzam. The cache contained six Kalashnikov machine guns, a FMPK heavy machine gun, a RPG-7 rocket launcher, three Simonov...
Algeria: Police foil suicide attack in Constantine
The North Africa Journal: February 27, 2917: A suicide attack targeting a police station in Bab el-Kantara, in the Algerian province of Constantine, was foiled on February 26, 2017. A suicide bomber was seeking to enter the police station, but was prevented to do so...
Labor Unions: Localized and segmented unions in North Africa seek better coordination
The North Africa Journal - Feb 21, 2017: Labor protests have been a major source of the heightened level of social unrest across the region. This past week saw its share of trade union unrest, largely driven by a labor sector that has regulations largely seen as...
Algeria: Tensions deepen among the opposition over legislative elections
Tension between the opposition parties Jil Jadid (New Generation) and the Islamist-leaning Movement for Society and Peace (MSP) have intensified this week after former presidential candidate and Jil Jadid chief Soufiane Djilali, accused the Islamist Abderrazak Makri...
Outlook: Yet another cycle of uncertainty for the region
As the armed forces and security services manage to control, to a certain extent, the terror threat, the Greater North Africa region is facing unprecedented political tension, social stress and economic despair. Data for all countries in the North Africa zone,...
Instability in North Africa and Sahel claims over 8,500 deaths in 2016. MEA Risk expects 2017 to be another crisis year
Miami, FL – MEA Risk LLC - The North Africa and Sahel zone witnessed a 16.0% increase in the number of destabilizing critical incidents in 2016 to a total of 11,916, according to MEA Risk LLC. Despite such increase, MEA Risk’s Instability Index, measuring the crisis...
Algerian authorities confronted with localized labor unrest, escalation in 2017
While the Algerian authorities continue to focus a great deal of attention and resources on preventing attacks from Islamic militant groups, the erosion in state revenues is forcing them to push for new austerity measures that are creating a lot of tension nationwide....
More Belt-Tightening Ahead for Algeria
The North Africa Journa: October 2, 2016: Algeria continues to seek cost containment measures, with growing expectation of fuel price increases in 2017 aimed at reducing the projected budget deficit of $2.6 billion. There is also pressure on the government to freeze...
As counter-terror campaign intensifies in Algeria, Libya’s weapons making their way into the country
In the first four months of 2016, the Algerian army has killed 31 Islamist insurgents, and captured 33 others nationwide. Furthermore, an arsenal of war big enough to wreck havoc was siezed, including over 300 war weapons were retrieved, 202 hideouts were destroyed...
BP and Statoil Reducing their Staffs in Algeria: Consequences on Business Continuity
Although the recent terror attempt on an Algerian gas site, signed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) caused no physical damage, it has had without any doubt some psychological impact on jittery companies and on authorities scrambling to secure the area....
Mortar shell attack on an Algerian gas field, no casualties
According to MEA Risk sources, an insurgent group has attacked a gas field exploited by the Algerian state-owned energy company Sonatrach, Statoil and BP in the In Salah gas site of Krechba, in the Saharian province of Ghardaia. Two homemade mortar shells were fired;...
With Peugeot-Citroen Joining Renault, Oran becomes the Capital of Algeria’s Car Assembly Business
Although the companies have not made a formal announcement yet, the Wali (governor) of Oran in western Algeria says his province will be home of a new Peugeot-Citroën auto assembly plant. The plant is even scheduled to be located the municipality of el-Hamou. If the...
Bombing of Libya Looms as Neighboring States Seek to Seal the Borders and Build Refugee Towns
Fresh troop movements and unusual activity along the Algeria-Libya borders are clear indications of the potential for an imminent Western offensive in Libya, according to MEA Risk security trackers. The Algerian authorities, fearful for the consequences of a...
Maghreb Security: Easing of Tension vs. Ramadan, but Instability Remains Dangerously High
MEA Risk tracking firm says a return to a certain level of normalcy in the Maghreb region has been taking place ever since the end of Ramadan back in July. Yet the concept of normalcy and a reduction in the stress level compared to the period of Ramadan do not mean...
IS Looking to Widen North Africa Operations, says MEA Risk
There are a lot of chatters and pronouncements in various places about the Islamic State organization (Daesh) seeking to expand its presence and intensify its operations in North Africa, according to MEA Risk. Tunisia and Morocco are particularly mentioned in those...
Bloodiest Day in Algeria in Almost 15 Years
The province of Ghardaia, in central Algeria has been the scene over the past few days of intercommunal clashes that are pitting two ethnic groups. MEA Risk trackers on the ground report that pitched battles between members of the Maliki and Mozabite tribes have...
Belmokhtar Likely Escaped US Attack, and the Bizarre Aftermath
According to the Libyan government of Tobruk, the Algerian militant group leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar, head of al-Mourabitoun, was killed in a U.S. airstrike in eastern Libya. However, there is no evidence of his killing and the US authorities have not confirmed his...
Algeria Hard Currency Reserve Stood at $179 Bil in Dec 2014, Down 7.8% Year on Year
Algeria’s political and economic leaders have a big problem. The country’s foreign currency reserves stood at $178.9 billion at the end of December 2014. That’s not a bad number except that it fell 3.5% sequentially in just one month, which is compared to November...
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