Burkina Faso: At least 12 civilians killed in northern village of Kiè
At least twelve civilians were killed in an attack by suspected jihadists in an area of western Burkina Faso bordering Mali, a local official and residents told AFP on Saturday. The village of Kie was attacked by “unidentified armed individuals on Friday...Sahel: More terror attacks on civilians in Burkina Faso
Around 40 people have been killed in a fresh wave of attacks in Burkina Faso, in areas where jihadist attacks are rife, sources said on Friday. In the most recent violence, around 20 people were killed in a series of raids on villages in Burkina Faso’s troubled...Tunisia arrests two students for a song critical to police, then releases them under presidential pressure
A Tunisian court on Thursday released two students arrested earlier this week for a song criticising police, shortly after President Kais Saied denounced their detention as “unacceptable” amid a public outcry. Dhia Nassir and Youssef Chalbi, aged 26 and...
Algerian regime arrests businessman Isaad Rebrab, lengthens prison term of opposition figure to eliminate competition to president’s second term
Photo: Algeria’s richest man, Isaad Rebrab- The appeal trial of Ali Ghediri on May 16 and 17 ended with an increase of his sentence from four to six years in prison. Ali Ghediri is a retired army general who decided to run for president in 2019. The court...Burkina Faso: Twenty civilians killed in two terror attacks in Koulpelogo
Around 20 people in east-central Burkina Faso have been killed in attacks by suspected jihadists, sources said on Friday. Armed men on Monday raided the village of Kaongo in the border province of Koulpelogo, killing at least 11 people including two women and...Sahel: Herders and farmers’ conflicts intensify in southern Chad
Eleven villagers in southern Chad have been killed by “bandits,” in a region troubled by violence between herders and sedentary farmers, the military said on Thursday. The attack occurred on Wednesday, coinciding with an announcement by Chad that it had...Tunisian president evokes ‘tolerance’ after synagogue attack
Tunisian President Kais Saied has hosted Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders following a deadly mass shooting outside a local synagogue, telling them Tunisia was a country of “tolerance and coexistence”. The May 9 attack on the resort island of Djerba...
Sahel: French military allegedly tried to use journalist Olivier Dubois to track JNIM leader before his kidnapping
French forces tried to use a journalist’s visit to northern Mali to track a jihadist leader but failed to prevent the reporter from being kidnapped by the militants, French media reported Wednesday. The report comes amid an investigation into what happened to...
Migrations: Nine migrants die in west Tunisia, as number of migrants crossing the Med Sea increased 300% in first quarter
The bodies of nine migrants from sub-Saharan African countries have been found in western Tunisia, near the border with Algeria, in recent days, a judicial official told AFP on Wednesday. Tunisia, whose coastline is less than 150 kilometres (90 miles) from the Italian...
Sahel: French uranium miner evacuates expatriate staff from Niger as security threats grow
French uranium miner Orano said on Friday it had evacuated expatriate staff from northern Niger after being warned of a threat in the jihadist-troubled region. The company late Thursday was advised of a “security event” in a village located halfway...Sahel: Thousands displaced by Niger conflict set to return
More than 18,000 people who have fled conflict in jihadist-hit western Niger are being given help to return as security for the area is beefed up, officials told AFP on Monday. “Some started heading back by themselves a couple of days ago and this morning a...
Tunisia: Senior opposition figure Rached Ghannouchi gets one year in prison, as president moves to authoritarianism
The Tunisian Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party on Tuesday condemned the one-year prison sentence handed to its leader Rached Ghannouchi, calling it an “unjust political verdict”. Ghannouchi, a leading opponent of President Kais Saied, was sentenced on...
Tunisia pushes for more judicial harassment against the media, arrests journalist Khalifa Guesmi
A Tunisian appeals court has handed a five-year jail term to a radio journalist for disclosing information about the security services, his lawyer said Tuesday. Khalifa Guesmi of the private Mosaique FM radio station had appealed a one-year jail term handed down in...
Libya: Fathi Bashagha, rival prime minister, ousted by eastern parliament
Related Content: The fleecing of Libya [listen as audio podcast] Also: How to Plunder a Nation: How the Ben Ali clan ransacked Tunisia’s wealth Libya’s parliament, in the east of the divided country, on Tuesday suspended Fathi Bashagha as head of an...Sahel: Mali-UN relations worsening by the day as Malian forces are accused of committing mass murder
Mali’s military junta on Saturday denounced as “fictitious” and “biased” a UN report that said the army and foreign fighters executed at least 500 people during a 2022 anti-jihadist operation. Denouncing revelations that the UN had used...
Algeria’s wheat imports to hit record volumes this summer ($)
🔒 Subscriber-Only Analysis This in-depth report is reserved exclusively for clients subscribing to The North Africa Journal. 👤 Already a subscriber? Log in here Not a subscriber? Click here for our lowest...Sahel: 11 men jailed over Chad ‘coup bid’ promised pardons
🔓 READ THIS ARTICLE FOR FREE This article is currently available to all registered users. Create a free account (or log in) to continue reading immediately. Create Free Account Already have an account? Log...Libyan forces intervene to halt deadly clashes between rival militias
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Podcast: The Fleecing of Libya: Billions of Dollars Missing and Everyone is at Fault
In the post-Gaddafi era, corruption in Libya is endemic and metastasized. The culture of corruption is so ubiquitous and widespread that Transparency International ranks Libya third before last in the MENA region, doing only better than Syria and Yemen. In this...Mauritania: Voting in local and legislative elections begins
El-Khadir Lamine, an 18-year-old student voting for the first time, said he was hoping for “new opportunities for young people”. For the first time, voters can choose a list for candidates younger than 35, for whom 11 seats will be automatically...Algeria says army officer killed in clash with Islamists
An Algerian army officer has been killed in a clash with suspected Islamists during an operation southwest of the capital, the defence ministry said on Thursday. The captain died Wednesday during the operation to capture “a group of terrorists” in the...
Mali: Government of Mali confronted with accusations of “summary executions, rape and torture”
The Malian army and foreign fighters executed at least 500 people during an anti-jihadist operation in Mali in March 2022, according to a much-awaited UN report released on Friday. The figures by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) amount to the worst...Turkey: Withdrawal of third-party candidate in Turkish election not good news for Erdogan
By Dmitry Zaks: Third-party candidate Muharrem Ince on Thursday withdrew from Turkey’s tight presidential election in a shock move that raised the chances of an opposition first-round victory. The 59-year-old announced his decision after being targeted by an...
A world turned on its head: Egypt’s loyalty to the US in question
In Egypt, a country that gets substantial military and economic aid from the United States, General Abdelfattah el-Sissi has allegedly ordered the manufacture of 40,000 rockets for the benefit of Russia, in the midst of the war in Ukraine. Leaked documents apparently...Egyptians struggle with Cleoptra’s skin color
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Tunisia: Five killed in terror attack on Jewish community in Djerba
🔓 READ THIS ARTICLE FOR FREE This article is currently available to all registered users. Create a free account (or log in) to continue reading immediately. Create Free Account Already have an account? Log...Sahel: Germany announces end of its participation in the UN mission in Mali a full year ahead
The German government said on Wednesday it had decided to end its participation in the UN mission in Mali by next May over problems with the ruling junta. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s cabinet said Berlin would pull its 1,110 troops in the UN mission MINUSMA out of...Sahel: Growing concern over crackdown on media in the Sahel
Thirty media outlets and press freedom groups on Wednesday called for Mali and Burkina Faso’s ruling juntas to safeguard journalists in the face of mounting threats. In an open letter published on World Press Freedom Day, the signatories said they were alarmed...
Tunisia: UGTT union chief rejects talks with IMF in fear of tough austerity measures
Tunisia’s largest union on Monday attacked the government’s handling of negotiations with the IMF on a loan to bail out the North African country as it slides deeper into debt. Tunisia is seeking a bailout package worth nearly $2 billion from the...
Egypt: Al Jazeera Journalist Hisham Abdelaziz released from prison as Egypt moves closer to Qatar
The authorities in Egypt have released a journalist with the Qatar-based Al Jazeera news network nearly four years after he was detained, the media outlet said. Hisham Abdelaziz, a producer with the network’s Mubasher channel, was arrested in June 2019 after...The collapsing Sudan
The UN on Monday warned more than 800,000 people could flee fighting and dire conditions in Sudan, where explosions again shook the capital in violation of the latest truce extension agreed by warring generals. The chaos and bloodshed, now in their third week, have...Sweden still needs Turkey and Hungary’s approval to join NATO
Washington on Wednesday urged Turkey and Hungary to quickly ratify Sweden’s NATO membership bid, which has been blocked for months due to a series of disputes with the two nations. “We look forward to soon welcoming Sweden as the 32nd (member of NATO). And...US Supreme Court rejects claim of sovereign immunity by Turkish bank Halkbank
The US Supreme Court rejected Wednesday the claim of sovereign immunity by a Turkish bank accused of violating Iran sanctions, in a case that has added tensions to ties between Washington and Ankara. Halkbank was hit with US criminal charges in 2019 that it took part...Turkey arrests founder of cryptocurrency exchange Thodex
Thodex, suspected of having fled Turkey with the assets of his clients, arrived in Istanbul on Thursday after his extradition from Albania and was immediately taken into custody, officials said. Fugitive businessman Faruk Fatih Ozer is suspected of having fled Turkey...
Tunisian court orders detention of leading Islamist opposition figure Ghannouchi
Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi has been remanded in custody following his arrest earlier this week, his Ennahdha party said Thursday, denouncing his “unjust imprisonment”. Ghannouchi, 81, a former speaker of parliament, was arrested on Monday...
Morocco ups campaign to capture more migrants crossing seas
Morocco’s navy has intercepted 552 migrants attempting to reach Europe over 10 days in both the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, a military source told state media on Thursday. Morocco in northwest Africa is a transit country for many migrants trying to get...
Sahel: Chief of staff of Mali junta leader killed in ambush near Mauritania
A key figure in Mali’s ruling junta died when an official convoy came under attack in the jihadist-hit north of the country, a document from the presidency said Thursday. Oumar Traore — chief of staff of Colonel Assimi Goita, the Sahel country’s...