Sahel: Boubou Cisse asked to form new government in Mali
Bamako, April 22, 2019 (AFP) – Mali’s president on Monday named economy and finance minister Boubou Cisse as the new prime minister tasked with forming a “broad government” to stem bloodshed in the country, an official statement said. Cisse is...
Libya: Unity government issues arrest warrant for Haftar
Tripoli, April 18, 2019 (AFP) – Libya’s unity government on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for strongman general Khalifa Haftar for allegedly ordering deadly air strikes against civilian areas. Six of Haftar’s officers were also named in the...
Libya: The battle for Tripoli rages on, 147 killed
Tripoli, April 15, 2019 – At least 147 people have been killed and 614 wounded in the offensive launched on April 4 by Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar to take the capital Tripoli, the World Health Organization said Monday. The clashes have displaced...
Morocco: Court upholds outrageous prison terms for Hirak leaders
Rabat, April 10, 2019 – Human Rights Watch on Wednesday warned Rabat over what it called the “shocking” Moroccan court of appeal rulings against 42 leaders of a protest movement. “The shocking appeals verdict upholding up to 20-year...
Morocco: Swiss national sentenced to prison for terrorism
Rabat, April 12, 2019 – A Moroccan court has sentenced a Swiss citizen arrested in connection with the murder of two Scandinavian hikers to 10 years in prison on terrorism charges, his lawyer said Friday. Kahlil Idriss said the man, identified only as Nicolas...
Libya: Thousands flee, population stranded inside conflict zone in Tripoli
April 12, 2019 – More than 8,000 people have fled fighting around Libya’s capital, half of whom have been displaced over the last two days, the United Nations said Friday. “Displacements from areas affected by the clashes in an around Tripoli...
Egypt: Teenage suicide bomber kills seven in Egypt
Cairo, April 9, 2019 – A teen suicide bomber killed four members of Egypt’s security forces and three civilians Tuesday in restive North Sinai, the interior ministry said, with the Islamic State group claiming the attack. “The suicide bomber aged...
The Libyan crisis and Rome’s immigration nightmare
Rome, April 11, 2019 – Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte warned Thursday that the deteriorating situation in Libya could create a humanitarian crisis and increase the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean. “Ongoing fighting and a rising number...People Profile: Ahmed Ouyahia, Algerian Politician
Prime minister of Algeria (1995-1998 2004-2006 2008-2012 2017-2019) Ahmed Ouyahia (: أحمد أويحيى, : Aḥmad ʾŪyaḥyā; 2 July 1952) is an Algerian politician who was four times (1995–98, 2004–2006, 2008–2012, 2017–2019). A career diplomat, he also served as Minister of...People profile: Mohamed Mediene, Algerian Intelligence
Former head of Algerian intelligence General Mohamed Mediène (: الجنرال محمد مدين), also known as Toufik (توفيق) is an Algerian intelligence officer who formerly served as head of the country's secret services, the (Département du renseignement et de la sécurité,...
With the ousting of Bouteflika and al-Bashir, should others be concerned?
April 11, 2019 – Strongmen in the Middle East and North Africa will be eyeing warily popular protests, fed by frustration with living standards and an elite perceived as corrupt, that helped push veteran Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and now...
Mali: French forces in Mali set up base near Burkina border after major clean up operation
April 10, 2019 – French and Malian troops killed or captured more than 30 extremists and dismantled a jihadist training camp during a major counter-terrorism operation near Mali’s border with Burkina Faso, the French military told AFP on Friday. The...
Libya’s Escalating Civil War: The Oil Dimension
By Rauf Mammadov* and Theodore Karasik** – 10 April 2019: Libya’s civil war intensified this month after General Khalifa Haftar, head of the Libyan National Army (LNA), which is allied with the eastern government based in Tobruk—the House of Representatives...
Sahel: Mali soldier mistakenly shoots and kills civilian in moment of panic
Bamako, April 9, 2019 – Malian soldiers shot dead at least one villager and injured others after a detonation they mistook for an attack in a region plagued by jihadist violence, residents and a military source said Tuesday. The shooting took place Monday in...