Tunisia: France arrests brother-in-law of ex-Tunisia dictator Ben Ali, wanted by Tunisia
March 18, 2019 (AFP) – France said Monday it had arrested and detained Belhassen Trabelsi, the brother-in-law of ousted Tunisian leader El-Abidine Ben Ali, who had been on the run for three years after fleeing Canada. Prosecutor Xavier Tarabeux in the southern...
Sahel: Three Nigerian poachers arrested in Niger with massive haul
Niamey, March 17, 2019 (AFP) – Three Nigerian poachers were arrested in Niger with a massive haul of slaughtered game from W National Park which straddles the borders of Niger, Burkina Faso and Benin, officials said Sunday. Forestry agents discovered elephant...
Sahel: Jihadists attack army camp in Mali’s Mopti region, kill scores of soldiers
Bamako, March 17, 2019 – An attack by suspected jihadists Sunday on an army camp in central Mali killed 23 soldiers, military sources said Monday, raising an initial toll of 21. A local politician and military sources had given the initial toll after a dawn...
Sahel: Niger-Boko Haram conflict intensifies, scores killed in Diffa
Niamey, March 13, 2019 – Niger said Wednesday it had killed 33 Boko Haram “terrorists” and seized vehicles and weapons in an operation in the Lake Chad region in the country’s southeast. “Offensive actions carried out on Tuesday...
Sahel: More soldiers killed by an IED in Mali’s Mopti region
Bamako, March 12, 2019 – Six Malian troops were killed on Tuesday when their vehicles drove over improvised land mines in the centre of the West African country, the army said. Two army escort vehicles hit improvised explosive devices (IEDs) “leaving two...
MEA Risk’s 1Q2019 Sahel podcast update
Season 1, Episode 5 The Sahel 1Q2019 Update Things are moving fast in the Sahel. Libya’s LNA southwestern offensive has increased instability in parts of the Sahel and the Sahara. In Mali, insurgencies and war are accelerating. And in Nigeria, Boko Haram and its...
Another day of protest in Algeria
Algiers, March 13, 2019 – Hundreds of school teachers and students protested in the Algerian capital on Wednesday amid fears that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika plans to extend his two-decade rule. In a surprise announcement Monday, the ailing 82-year-old said...
Algeria: Despite announcing a pull out from presidential race and postponement of elections, Bouteflika is going nowhere
Algeria’s presidential message that Bouteflika is pulling out from the presidential race is 3/4th victory for protesters, one fourth no so. Bouteflika says he will not run and elections are postponed, but no other person has been appointed to manage the...
Turkey: Prez Erdogan attacks women for celebrating Women’s Day
Ankara, March 10, 2019 – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday accused International Women’s Day protesters of being led by political rivals and of “disrespect” during the Islamic call to prayer, after Friday’s march was broken...
Nigeria: Election violence forces vote suspension in Rivers state
Port Harcourt, Nigeria, March 10, 2019 – By Joel Olatunde Agoi – Nigeria’s election authorities announced the suspension of activities in volatile opposition-held Rivers State on Sunday citing violence and threats to its staff, as tensions rise in...People profile: Algeria’s Ali Haddah
Algerian businessman Ali Haddad, : علي حداد (born 27 January 1965 in ) is an Algerian Businessman. He is the co-founder and CEO of ETRHB (Entreprise des Travaux Routiers, Hydrauliques et Bâtiments; Road, Hydraulic and Building Works Company in English), and has been...
Morocco: Suspected Moroccan Jihadis back home, likely to face tough justice
Rabat, March 10, 2019 – Morocco said Sunday it had repatriated eight of its nationals from Syria, who will be investigated for “suspected involvement in acts linked to terrorism”. “The competent Moroccan authorities proceeded on March 10 to...Organization: UGTA Labor Union
Main Algerian trade union The General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA; : الإتحاد العام للعمال الجزائريين, : al-Ittiḥād al-ʿĀm lil-ʿUmmāl al-Ǧazāʾiriyyīn, : Union Générale des Travailleurs Algériens) is the main Algerian , established February 24, 1956 with the...People profile: Algeria’s Ramtane Lamamra
Algerian politician and diplomat Ramtane Lamamra (: رمطان لعمامرة; born 15 June 1952) is an Algerian diplomat who was ' Personal Envoy for Sudan from 2023 to 2026. Lamamra previously served as the 's from 2008 to 2013 and from 2013 to 2017 and briefly in March 2019....People profile: Algeria’s Lakhdar Brahimi
Algerian United Nations diplomat (born 1934) Lakhdar Brahimi ( pronunciation: ; : الأخضر الإبراهيمي; al-Akhḍar al-Ibrāhīmi; born 1 January 1934) is an Algerian United Nations diplomat who served as the and Special Envoy to until 14 May 2014. He was of from 1991 to...
Egypt: General Sisi names another general to clean up public transport mess
Cairo, March 10, 2019 – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday tapped a senior military officer for the post of transport minister after a recent train crash at Cairo’s central station killed 22 people. Speaking at a military gathering,...
Egypt’s Sisi frightened by Algerian protests, warns his people to not dare
Cairo, March 10, 2019 – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned Sunday against the dangers of protesting, in the wake of widespread demonstrations in Algeria and neighbouring Sudan. Sisi, who regularly evokes political stability to draw foreign...
Franco-Algerians protest against Bouteflika
Paris, March 10, 2019 – Thousands of Algerian-origin protesters demonstrated in Paris and other cities around France on Sunday against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, calling on him not to seek another term in office. Several thousand gathered for the second...
Egyptian government likely using cyber-attacks against activists
March 6, 2019 – Amnesty International warned Wednesday that dozens of rights activists in Egypt have been put in “grave danger” by email phishing attacks that it says appear to be government orchestrated. “Dozens of Egyptian human rights...
Sahe: Terror attacks on the rise in Mali, says UN
March 5, 2019 (AFP) – Security is worsening in Mali with terror attacks on the rise, targeting UN peacekeepers, Malian troops, international forces and civilians, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in a report on Tuesday. The threat from extremist...
Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid released
Cairo, March 4, 2019 – Award-winning Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid was released on Monday after spending nearly six years in prison following his arrest while covering a bloody crackdown on protests. The photographer, widely known as Shawkan, faces...
Sahel: Tension on Libya-Chad border mounts with killing of Chadian deserters
March 4, 2019 – Deserters from a Chadian rebel group based in Libya were ambushed at the border of the two countries leaving seven people dead, their group said Monday. The attack happened on Saturday at Sossal on the Chadian border where the deserters were...
Algeria: Court releases blogger Merzoug Touati
Algiers, March 4, 2019 (AFP) – An Algerian court ordered a blogger released on time served Monday after finding him guilty of colluding with a foreign power at a retrial, his lawyer said. Merzoug Touati, 30, has been through a roller-coaster legal process since...
Algeria: TV presenter Nadia Madassi resigns after forced to read Bouteflika letter
Algiers, March 4, 2019 (AFP) – An Algerian state television presenter resigned Monday because she was angry that she had to broadcast parts of a letter by ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, one of her colleagues said. Nadia Madassi, presenter of Canal...
Libya: NOC takes control of al-Sharara oil field, set to resume production
Tripoli, March 4, 2019 – One of Libya’s most important oil fields is set to reopen nearly three months after it was taken over by an armed group, the state-owned National Oil Corporation said Monday. Production at the Al-Sharara site in southern Libya...
Algeria: Regime insists on fifth term, people push against
Algiers, March 4, 2019 – Algerians on Monday dismissed President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s promise to quit early if re-elected for a fifth time and said they were ready for new protests seeking his resignation. The ailing leader, who suffered a stroke in...
Algeria says candidate with former French citizenship ineligible to run for president
Algiers, March 4, 2019 – When an Algerian businessman was ruled ineligible to stand in April’s presidential election, his cousin and namesake stepped forward to take his place. In recent weeks Rachid Nekkaz has travelled around Algeria to gather the...
Mali: Fulani insurgent leader Amadou Koufa still alive after France announced his killing
March 1, 2019 – Malian and French authorities were verifying the authenticity of a video on Friday that appeared to show one of the West African country’s top jihadist leaders alive — three months after his death was announced. Officials in both...
Sahel: More soldiers killed in landmine blast in Mopti, Mali
March 1, 2019 – Nine soldiers in the five-nation G5 Sahel anti-jihadist force were killed in central Mali on Friday when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device, the Malian army said. The incident happened at Boulkessy, in the Mopti region, it said on...
Sahel: Bacteria infection kills thousands of donkeys in Niger
Niamey, March 1, 2019 – A contagious bacterial infection known as “equine strep throat” has killed more than 4,000 donkeys in northern Niger since early December, local officials said Friday. “Of the 8,392 donkeys affected by equine distemper...
Algeria: Anti-regime protests intensify, as hundreds of thousands of people return to the street to oppose status quo
Update2: Algiers, March 1, 2019 – Several people were hurt Friday in violent clashes between police and protesters in the Algerian capital, AFP journalists said, during demonstrations against a bid by ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to seek a fifth term....
Sahel: Expect more Danish soldiers in the Sahel
Copenhagen, Feb 28, 2019 – Denmark announced Thursday that it plans to send materiel and some troops to Africa to help support the French operation combatting jihadist groups in the Sahel. The government’s plans, which must be approved by parliament,...
Algeria police arrest dozen journalists who were protesting against censorship
Algiers, Feb 28, 2019 – Algerian police arrested Thursday a dozen journalists protesting “censorship” of coverage of demonstrations against a fifth term for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, as the prime minister compared the rallies to those that...
Algeria’s dangerous political gridlock
Algiers, Feb 28, 2019 – By Amal Belalloufi and Aymeric Vincenot: Mounting frustration at their ailing president’s bid for a fifth term has brought protestors to the streets in Algeria, where Abdelaziz Bouteflika is the regime’s candidate for April...
Public health: Outbreak of tropical parasite in Libya
Tripoli, Feb 27, 2019 – At least 5,000 cases of a potentially deadly tropical disease have been registered in Libya in the past six months, the country’s health ministry said Wednesday. Leishmaniasis, which is caused by a microscopic parasite spread by...