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...
Tunisia arrests opposition leader Ghannouchi, shuts offices of Ennahdha party
Tunisian authorities closed the offices of Islamist-inspired opposition party Ennahdha on Tuesday, a day after arresting its leader Rached Ghannouchi, a senior party official said. [Read Ghannouchi’s profile here] “A police unit showed up at the...Algeria passes law further curbing press freedom
Algeria’s parliament on Thursday passed a law further restricting press freedom in the North African country by tightening media ownership rules and preventing journalists from protecting sources. The law bans domestic media outlets from receiving funding or...Migrations: 32 migrants perish off the coast of Tunisia
The death toll after a boat carrying sub-Saharan migrants sank off Tunisia this week rose to 32 on Friday after another eight bodies were recovered, the coastguard said. On Wednesday, the day after the sinking off the Tunisian port of Sfax, the authorities said 10...Morocco arrests 70 migrants for attempting to enter Spanish enclave
Moroccan security forces on Friday foiled an attempt by 150 sub-Saharan African migrants to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and arrested 70 people, local authorities said. The attempt to reach Ceuta comes less than a year after at least 23 people died when around...Nigerians vote again for governors
Nigeria’s ruling party has won a rerun governorship election in northern Kebbi state, the electoral commission said on Sunday, while procedural chaos led to the suspension of the vote count in another state. Voters went to the polls on Saturday to elect new...Tunisia: Football star Nizar Issaoui sets himself alight to protest police brutality
A professional footballer in Tunisia has died after setting himself alight earlier this week in what he called a protest against the “police state” ruling the country, his brother said Friday. Nizar Issaoui, 35, suffered third-degree burns from his action...Rwanda promises help to Benin in fighting terrorism
Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame met Saturday with his Benin counterpart Patrice Talon, promising military support to help the country contain spillover from jihadist conflict across its northern border with Burkina Faso. West Africa coastal nations Benin, Togo,...Sahel: Crisis in Sudan forces Chad to close border
Chad’s government announced Saturday it was closing its border with Sudan after battles erupted between rival military factions in the neighbouring country. Sudan’s army carried out airstrikes against the bases of a paramilitary force, as weeks of tensions...Burkina Faso accuses French state media of “acting as communications agency” for Al-Qaeda
The military junta in Burkina Faso on Monday suspended all broadcasts by the France 24 news channel in the west African country after it interviewed the head of Al-Qaeda North Africa. Burkina Faso, which witnessed two coups last year, is battling a jihadist insurgency...Tunisia wants more help from Europe, despite worrying policies of President Saied
Tunisia on Monday called for “constructive discourse” from the European Union after a string of leaders warned the country is facing a crisis that could impact the 27-member bloc. In a statement after meeting EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni in...Egypt: Generosity brings people together in Egypt amid Ramadan’s soaring food prices
By Bahira Amin: In a time of dire economic trouble, Egyptians are holding fast to the Ramadan tradition of charity, with both donors and those in need pinning hopes on holiday generosity. Families have buckled under the weight of inflation, which hit 32.9 percent in...Morocco’s conundrum: deepening alliance with Israel’s ultra-nationalist government vs. supporting the Palestinian cause,
By Philippe Agret: Morocco is struggling to balance its alliance with Israel with support for the domestically popular Palestinian cause, an increasingly complex challenge with Israel ruled by its most right-wing government ever. The North African country normalised...Sahel: Clashes between Niger army and Boko Haram continue along border with Nigeria
Niger’s army said its troops had killed around 20 jihadists and arrested 83 others in an operation against militants on its southeastern border with Nigeria. Troops supported by air power attacked jihadists who have been using Matari forest in Nigeria as a rear...Algeria to send back ambassador to France after diplomatic row over Algerian dissident
Algeria will send its ambassador back to France soon, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said weeks after he withdrew the envoy following a diplomatic spat over a French-Algerian activist. Algiers withdrew its envoy in early February after accusing its former colonial...Tunisia: Growing concern in Washington over Tunisia’s political and economic struggles
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Wednesday that Tunisia urgently needs to reach a deal with the IMF, adding to dire EU warnings about the country’s future. “The most critical thing they can do on the economic side is actually get an IMF...
Sahel: Death toll in Mali due to insecurity was up 54% in 2022 to nearly 1,300
The number of people killed in Mali continued to increase in 2022, a UN report said Wednesday, also linking more than a third of human rights violations to security forces. The UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, was created in 2013 to help stabilise the country as it...
Migrations: Five migrants die off the coast of Tunisia, Algeria disbands smuggling gang
Five migrants from sub-Saharan Africa drowned and another 28 were missing Wednesday after their boat capsized off Tunisia, a rights group said. “Five migrants’ bodies were recovered and five other migrants were rescued, but 28 are still missing,”...
Egypt: After condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Egypt-Russia want to “strengthen relations”
Erratum: A previous title for this article wrongly suggested that an Egyptian delegation traveled to Russia. It should have been the other way around. We apologize to our readers for the mistake, which has been corrected. /The Editor A senior Russian delegation met on...