Nigeria: As primaries end, competition between parties to intensify, and violence likely
The North Africa Journal – 14 October 2018 – Security analyst firm MEA Risk LLC says that for the period of 8 to 14 October 2018, there were 41 critical incidents in Nigeria, resulting in at least 124 deaths and 113 arrests. Both the Social/Human and...
Mozambique: Municipal elections end with ruling party dominance
The North Africa Journal: 15 October 2018: MEA Risk reports that the Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo) has won Mozambique’s municipal elections in 44 of the country’s 53 municipalities, according to official figures released on 14 October. Elections took place on...
Algeria faces US sanctions for purchasing Russian weaponry
The North Africa Journal – 3 October 2018: The United States could impose sanctions against Algeria for purchasing Russian military equipment. In its effort to punish Moscow for its alleged interference in the 2016 elections and its “unacceptable”...
Europe in search of partners in North Africa to block illegal immigration
The North Africa Journal – September 20, 2018: There appears to be an uptick in entry of foreign migrants into Europe over the past months. Although there has been a sizeable decrease of global entries since 2015, the European Coast Guard agency Frontex noticed...
Algeria: Military reshuffle confirms uncertainty ahead of elections
The North Africa Journal -By Hakim Briki – August 23, 2018: President Bouteflika has ordered an important military reshuffle, which might redefine the role of the armed forces in Algerian politic. Major Generals Habib Chentouf and Said El Bey, respectively the...
Algeria: Movement against reelection of Bouteflika makes waves after police disrupt first protest
The North Africa Journal – August 16, 2018 – By Hakim Briki: Mouwatana, a movement created in June 2018 to dissuade President Bouteflika from running for reelection, has denounced the “early presidential campaign” launched by majority parties....
Libya: Critical Incidents Map for July 2018. Libya risk remains highly elevated
The North Africa Journal – August 8, 2018: For the period of 1 July to 7 August 2018, there were 64 critical incidents affecting Libya’s stability rating, according to risk and tracking firm MEA Risk. Those incidents resulted in at least 18 deaths and 1,004...
Nigeria: Difficult time for ruling APC party and President Buhari, more violence ahead likely
The North Africa Journal – August 7, 2018: Last week, Mohammed Ali Ndume, the Senator representing Borno South in the Nigerian Senate and a member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), insisted that his party still maintained the majority position in...
Morocco: Central Danone and PJD minister first victims of an unusual boycott
The North Africa Journal – June 8, 2018: For several weeks now, a call to boycott three major brands in the Moroccan market is beginning to hurt the targeted businesses and has made its first collateral damage in government. Morocco’s social networks have been...
Algerian government outraged after journalist broadcasts anti-Bouteflika video from EU HQ
The North Africa Journal – June 8, 2018: Algerian journalist Layla Haddad Lefevre, who used to be the correspondent of the Algerian public broadcasting network in Brussels, appeared in a video shot at the EU headquarters denouncing the President Abdelaziz...
Presentation: The sources of instability in the Sahel
The North Africa Journal – June 5, 2018: This is a presentation made by MEA Risk Analyst and North Africa Journal Editor Arezki Daoud on understanding the sources of instability in the Sahel. The presentation focuses broadly on the root causes affecting...
Restive southeast Tunisia struggles with economic despair
The North Africa Journal – May 31, 2018: Economic Brief: A parliamentary report released this week in Tunisia caught our attention because it addressed, in an honest way, the major issues facing the restive southeastern Tunisia, and by extension many other...
Libya: Nothing new achieved in yet another Paris conference on Libya
By Arezki Daoud, MEA Risk Lead Analyst – May 31, 2018: The headlines in some of the world’s media read as if something new happened in Paris this week. One of them says “Libyan factions agree to December 10 elections at Paris talks,” suggesting to the reader...
Violence escalates in the Sahel, surge of communal conflicts
The North Africa Journal – May 31, 2018: Violence in Mali continues to escalate, making dozens of deaths, including among Tuareg and Fulani civilians caught in a conflict that has no solution in sight. Security tracking firm MEA Risk LLC says over the past...
Algeria: More insurgents surrender as military renews call for amnesty, says MEA Risk
The North Africa Journal: May 17, 2018: MEA Risk LLC reports that four more Islamic insurgents surrendered to the army in the province of Tamanrasset in Algeria this week in a series of surrenders boosted by the military call for amnesty for those willing to give up...
Mozambique: Back to uncertainty as opposition leader dies before conclusion of peace talks, says MEA Risk
The North Africa Journal: May 16, 2018: MEA Risk LLC said news and political life in Mozambique over the past fortnight have been largely dominated by the unexpected death of Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama on 3 May 2018. Dhlakama, one of the two top players in the...
Africa: Instability persists in Nigeria
The North Africa Journal – May 14, 2018: MEA Risk LLC said that for the period of 7 to 13 May 2018, there were 53 critical incidents in Nigeria, resulting in 134 deaths and 215 arrests. Incidents related to the Human & Social category and the Criminality category...
Africawide: Nigeria struggles with its twin conflict of herdsmen and Boko Haram
MEA Risk LLC – May 2, 2018: In its weekly threat assessment report, sister company MEA Risk pains a grim picture of the security situation in Nigeria. MEA Risk says for the period of 23 to 29 April 2018, there were 46 critical incidents in Nigeria, resulting in...
Africawide: Mozambique still struggling with Islamic militancy
MEA Risk – May 1, 2018: For the period of 1 to 15 April 2018, threat assessment firm MEA Risk reports 38 critical incidents in Mozambique, resulting in 10 deaths and at least 17 arrests. The Human & Social category accounted for 29.41% of the week’s...
Libya: General Haftar suffers heart attack
MEA Risk Brief: April 10, 2018: The commander of the pro-eastern government Libyan National Army, General Khalifa Haftar, is reported to have suffered a heart attack. He has been transferred to Jordan for intensive care.
Algeria: Presidency signals another term for Bouteflika as FLN endorses 2019 bid
The North Africa Journal – 9 April 2018: The possibility of President Bouteflika to run for another term is now increasingly likely. In fact, not only has he received the official endorsement of the ruling FLN party, but he has also toured projects in Algiers,...
Morocco allegedly informs Algeria about possible military action in Western Sahara
MEA Risk Brief: Morocco has reportedly informed Algeria, through an unidentified European ambassador to Algeria, that it is ready to intervene militarily if the “Polisario Front continues to refuse the United Nations” and Morocco’s call to withdraw from...
Algerians brace for currency devaluation, fueling informal forex
The North Africa Journal – 5 April 2018: The informal foreign currency exchange market (forex) in Algeria is more vibrant than ever, and continues to expand. The use of such market is widespread because of an ineffective financial sector and regulations that are...
Mali: Five killed as insurgents attack two villages in Koro
MEA Risk LLC: Five civilians were killed, and four others were wounded on 18 February….
Polisario clashes with tribesmen inside Tindouf camps
MEA Risk Brief: According to a security source, members of the security forces of the Sahrawi movement Polisario Front have clashed with Oulad Dim tribesmen inside the Sahrawi refugee camp of Tindouf on 16 February. The skirmish started when Polisario officials...
Algerian army loses two more soldiers in new attack, puts troops on high alert along Mali border
MEA Risk LLC: On 19 February, two Algerian soldiers were killed, and a third one was wounded after a roadside bomb was detonated by suspected Islamic insurgents during the passage of a military convoy in El Aich, in Khenchela’s Djellal municipality. This was...
Libya’s slave trade
By Maya Yang: On January 25, a series of grisly videos from Libya surfaced online that depicted several kidnapped Sudanese migrants tortured for ransom. In one video, at least five Sudanese men lay on the ground with fresh wounds on their backs, pleading with their...
Uber withdraws from Morocco
The North Africa Journal: February 21, 2018: There is a great deal of jubilation among Morocco’s taxi drivers and the leaders of the transport sector as Uber, the ride-hailing service announced that its last ride in Casablanca will take place on February 23. Present...
Algeria: Five soldiers killed in a Tebessa sweeping operation
Five soldiers were killed today (14 February) in a bomb explosion in Tebessa, near the Tunisian border, according to MEA Risk LLC. A large-scale sweeping operation was launched after the incident, in an area that appears to be affected by the presence of militant...
Tunisia: Difficult Road to Stability
The North Africa Journal – February 13, 2018: Tunisia continues to face several pain points that the government is struggling to fully contain. On the economic front, new datapoints confirm the tough start of the year for the country. Its foreign exchange...