Libya: More than 100 migrants missing off Libyan coastF

Libya: More than 100 migrants missing off Libyan coastF

Jan 19, 2019 – Scores of migrants were feared missing off the Libyan coast, the IOM said Saturday after the Italian navy flew three survivors to the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa. The International Organization for Migration said the three, who were...
Mali: Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for the Aguelhok attackF

Mali: Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for the Aguelhok attackF

[email_link] Bamako, Jan 20, 2019 (AFP) – Jihadist gunmen killed 10 Chadian peacekeepers and injured at least 25 others in an attack on a UN camp in northern Mali on Sunday, one of the deadliest strikes against the UN mission in the West African country....
Mali: Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for the Aguelhok attackF

Mali: Attack on base in Aguelhok claims ten peacekeepers, injures 25F

Editor note: Death toll updated to ten peacekeepers and 25 injured Sunday, per the UN as reported by AFP. Bamako, Jan 20, 2019 (AFP) – Gunmen killed at least eight Chadian UN peacekeepers in an attack Sunday on one of their bases in northern Mali, multiple...
Burkina Faso: Five dead in police-youth clashes in OrodaraF

Burkina Faso: Five dead in police-youth clashes in OrodaraF

Ouagadougou, Jan 19, 2019 (AFP) – Five people have been killed in Burkina Faso in a clash between police and angry youths who went on the rampage at a police station after a young man was shot dead, the security ministry said Saturday. A crowd of about 100...
Burkina Faso PM and government resignF

Burkina Faso PM and government resignF

Ouagadougou, Jan 19, 2019 (AFP) – Burkina Faso’s government and Prime Minister Paul Kaba Thieba stood down on Friday, according to a statement released by the country’s president. No explanation was given for the resignations, though sources told AFP...

Libya 2019 Preview PodcastF

Season 1, Episode 1 Libya, 2019 Preview When you think that the destabilization of Libya reached its peak, new development on the ground sinks the country even deeper.  The year 2018 was devastating for the Libyan people, and 2019 does not promise any improvement. ...
Libya: Ten killed in Tripoli clashesF

Libya: Ten killed in Tripoli clashesF

Tripoli, Jan 17, 2019 (AFP) – Two days of clashes between rival militias near Libya’s capital Tripoli have left 10 people dead and 41 wounded, the health ministry said Thursday. Fighting between armed groups erupted Wednesday despite a truce deal four...
Sahel: Canadian geologist kidnapped in Burkina Faso found deadF

Sahel: Canadian geologist kidnapped in Burkina Faso found deadF

Ouagadougou, Jan 17, 2019 (AFP) – A Canadian geologist kidnapped at a remote gold mine in northeast Burkina Faso by suspected jihadists has been found dead, the ministry of security told AFP on Thursday. A body found with gunshot wounds late Wednesday is that of...
Tunisia: Union launches nationwide strike in the public sectorF

Tunisia: Union launches nationwide strike in the public sectorF

January 17, 2019: A public sector strike brought Tunisia to a standstill Thursday as workers heeded calls from a powerful trade union to stay home over demands for wage hikes and economic reforms. Across the country, schools were closed, public offices shuttered and...
Sahel: Attack near Mali-Niger border leaves scores deadF

Sahel: Attack near Mali-Niger border leaves scores deadF

Bamako, Jan 16, 2019 – At least 10 people were killed by “terrorists” in northeastern Mali, including members of an armed group and civilians, a government official said on Wednesday. The attack took place around 45 kilometres (27 miles) from Menaka...
Libya: Ten killed in Tripoli clashesF

Libya: Chaos and more deaths in TripoliF

The North Africa Journal with AFP – January 16, 2919: Just as the UN warned against escalating violence in the Libyan capital, there is news of clashes that have already claimed at least five lives.  Over the past days, the UN’s Libya mission warned against...
Sahel: France threatens UN sanctions on Mali amid escalating violenceF

Sahel: France threatens UN sanctions on Mali amid escalating violenceF

January 16, 2019 – France on Wednesday threatened to push for more targeted sanctions to be imposed on Mali after hearing a UN official report on worsening violence in the West African country. The Security Council last month put three individuals linked to...
Egypt: Army says it killed five insurgents in North SinaiF

Egypt: Army says it killed five insurgents in North SinaiF

Cairo, Jan 16, 2019 – Egyptian police killed five suspected Islamic militants in North Sinai, where security forces are fighting an insurgency led by an affiliate of the Islamic State group, the government said Wednesday. The interior ministry said in a...
Egypt court orders release of mother held over ‘false news’F

Egypt court orders release of mother held over ‘false news’F

Cairo, Jan 15, 2019 (AFP) – An Egyptian court on Tuesday ordered the release of a woman accused of spreading “false statements” by telling the BBC her daughter had been forcibly disappeared. Mona Mahmud Mohammad has been in custody since March 2018...
Chad: Fighting over gold in Chad near Libya leaves dozens deadF

Chad: Fighting over gold in Chad near Libya leaves dozens deadF

N’Djamena, Jan 13, 2019 – Fighting between Chadian and Sudanese rebels at a remote goldmine in northern Chad has left dozens dead, local and rebel sources said Sunday. The fighting pitting Chadian rebels against a Sudanese group close to the...
Libya to boycott Arab summit over attacks on flagF

Libya to boycott Arab summit over attacks on flagF

Tripoli, Jan 14, 2019 – Libya’s internationally recognised government said Monday it will boycott an Arab economic summit in Lebanon this weekend after supporters of a Shiite movement in the country attacked its flag. “We have been forced to boycott...
Tunisia’s president sued for abuse of powerF

Tunisia’s president sued for abuse of powerF

Tunis, Jan 15, 2019 – Anti-corruption campaigners have filed a lawsuit accusing Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi of abuse of power after he pardoned a jailed party official close to his son, a court official said Tuesday. Borhane Bsaies, a communications...
Tunisia braces for labor strikeF

Tunisia braces for labor strikeF

Tunis, Jan 14, 2019 – Tunisia’s powerful UGTT trade union on Monday called for a strike as the country, grappling with economic hardships, marked the eighth anniversary of the 2011 revolution that toppled its longtime dictator.  The Tunisian General Labour...
Violence in Algeria’s football worldF

Violence in Algeria’s football worldF

Algiers, Jan 13, 2019 – More than 300 people were injured in football-related violence during the first four months of Algeria’s football season, with hundreds arrested, police said on Sunday. Algeria has for years seen nearly weekly violence at football...
Egypt deports second German alleged ‘jihadist’F

Egypt deports second German alleged ‘jihadist’F

Berlin, Jan 14, 2019 (AFP) – Egypt has deported the second of two young German men who were arrested last month as suspected jihadist militants, the foreign ministry in Berlin said Monday. Eighteen-year-old Issa Ibrahim ElSabagh landed at Frankfurt airport,...
Eastern Mediterranean countries to boost energy tiesF

Eastern Mediterranean countries to boost energy tiesF

Cairo, Jan 14, 2019 – Eastern Mediterranean countries including Egypt and Israel agreed on Monday to boost energy ties through the creation of a body to strengthen the gas market. The decision came during a meeting bringing together seven energy ministers...
Egypt: Six suspected militants killed by police in SohagF

Egypt: Six suspected militants killed by police in SohagF

Cairo, Jan 12, 2019 (AFP) – Egyptian police killed six suspected Islamist militants in a shootout early Saturday in the country’s south, the interior ministry said. The clashes broke out during a police raid on a militant hideout in a mountainous area on...
Morocco complains to UN of Western Sahara truce violationsF

Morocco complains to UN of Western Sahara truce violationsF

United Nations, United States, Jan 11, 2019 (AFP) – Morocco has accused Polisario Front fighters in Western Sahara of violating a ceasefire agreement, just weeks before an expected new round of talks on ending the decades-old conflict. In a letter seen by AFP on...
Egypt deports second German alleged ‘jihadist’F

Egypt arrests two Germans suspected to be joining Islamic StateF

Cairo, Jan 11, 2019 – Egypt has arrested two German nationals on suspicion they tried to join an Islamic State group affiliate and deported one of them, Egyptian security sources said Friday. German media reported earlier this month that two Germans had gone...
Burkina army chief sacked as jihadist attacks continueF

Burkina army chief sacked as jihadist attacks continueF

Ouagadougou, Jan 10, 2019 (AFP) -Burkina Faso’s army chief was sacked on Thursday as the armed forces struggle to put a stop to jihadist attacks in the west African nation. Major General Oumarou Sadou was replaced by General Moise Minoungou, according to a...