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...
Podcast: South Africa today: achievements and challenges
In this podcast, Arezki Daoud of MEA Risk and of The North Africa Journal, reports on his thoughts on South Africa, after a 10-day visit in April 2023. Audio only podcast: Youtube video presentation:Several killed in conflict between herders and farmers in south of Chad
Clashes between herders and farmers in southern Chad have left at least 22 people dead, authorities said Wednesday accusing rebels based in neighbouring Central African Republic of igniting the trouble. Farmers from the Kodo community on Monday attacked Fulani herders...Fifteen Tunisian migrants missing in Mediterranean
Fifteen Tunisian migrants are missing after their boat sank in the Mediterranean during an attempt to reach Europe, authorities said Wednesday. The boat carrying 19 Tunisians sank Monday night, said a statement by Tunisia’s National Guard, which oversees the...
Sudan: As military-men fight over power, Khartoum falls into chaos
Thousands of residents on Wednesday fled Sudan’s capital, where witnesses said bodies lay in the street from fighting between the army and paramilitaries after a 24-hour truce failed to take hold. Five days of fighting in Khartoum and elsewhere in the northeast...
Sahel: Despite closing its borders, Chad sees hundreds of Sudanese soldiers flee into its territory
Around 320 Sudanese soldiers have fled the fighting raging in their country to neighbouring Chad, the country’s defence minister said Wednesday. “They arrived in our territory, were disarmed and detained” on Sunday, General Daoud Yaya Brahim told a...
Tunisia: Profile of jailed opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi
Islamist-inspired Ennahdha opposition party arrested on Monday, once towered over Tunisia’s politics but many now blame him for the country’s ills. The reputation of the 81-year-old veteran politician, once seen as a kingmaker following the 2011 Arab...
Morocco: Despite being an agricultural powerhouse, Morocco is experiencing soaring food prices
By Ismail Bellaouali: Soaring inflation in Morocco is driving up living costs and stirring public anger, and as food prices increase the country’s export-led agricultural model is coming under fire. On April 8, protesters gathered outside parliament in the...Libyan authorities are cracking down on civil society groups
Libyan authorities have imposed “severe restrictions” on local and international civil society groups, obstructing their work in the war-scarred country, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday. “Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) and...