Mali: Al Qaeda kills Malian police officer
Egypt: Scores killed during insurgent attempt to raid military site in Sinai
Cairo, Feb 9, 2020 – Militants killed and wounded seven Egyptian soldiers in restive North Sinai on Sunday, Egypt’s military said. The army said it “foiled” an attack on security facilities, “killing 10 terrorists and destroying a...
Libya: African Union gets in the game after complaining of isolation
Addis Ababa, Feb 10, 2020 – The African Union vowed Monday to boost efforts to end the crisis in Libya and support a faltering UN-led peace process, the AU’s Peace and Security Council chief said. “It’s (the) UN itself which needs us...
Algeria: Insurgent targets military outpost near Timiaouine, kills guard during suicide attack
An Algerian soldier was killed Sunday in a suicide car bomb attack near the Mali border, the Algerian defence ministry said in a statement. “Today at 1050 (0950 GMT) in the border area of Timiaouine, a detachment of the ANP (army) was the target… of a...
Sahel: More violence in Niger
Niamey, Feb 8, 2020 – At least 11 civilians had been killed in two separate attacks in Niger, which is struggling to contain a wave of jihadist violence, officials said Saturday. In one attack on Friday, members of the Islamist group Boko Haram killed six...
Libya: African Union pressured to do more on the Libyan crisis
Addis Ababa, Feb 8, 2020 – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday said he supported the African Union (AU) taking a greater role in mediating the Libya crisis, acknowledging the bloc’s frustration at being sidelined so far. The AU leadership has...
Business: Coronavirus likely to force more oil production cuts
Algiers, Feb 8, 2020 – A committee appointed by the OPEC club of oil-producing countries and its allies to study the effects of coronavirus recommended additional output cuts on Saturday, Algeria’s energy minister said. “The coronavirus epidemic has...
Sahel: War rages in Mali, France’s air force neutralizes scores on insurgents
Paris, Feb 7, 2020 – French forces have put 30 jihadists “out of action” during Mali operations in a zone bordering Burkina Faso and Niger, a military spokesman said Friday. Colonel Frederic Barbry said an armed drone, a Mirage 2000 jet and two...
Mali government seeks to assert control over restive north, to send troops to Kidal
Bamako, Feb 7, 2020 – Malian troops are due to redeploy before February 10 to the northern town of Kidal, long a symbol of the government’s lack of control over the strife-torn north. Rebels captured much of the West African state’s north in 2012,...Morocco: Drug trafficking and migrant smuggling gang neutralized in Tangier
Tunisia: At least 200 children of Tunisian Jihadists stranded in war zones
Human Rights Watch on Thursday called on Tunisia to bring home nearly 200 children of suspected jihadists stranded or held in crowded camps and prisons in Libya, Iraq and Syria. The New York-based rights watchdog welcomed Tunisia’s repatriation last month of six...
Morocco: Tough times for migrants in Morocco
Fnideq, Morocco, Feb 7, 2020 (Hamza Mekouar) – Mustapha left his home in Guinea two years ago to make the arduous journey to Morocco, hoping to cross the fence separating the kingdom from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. “We’re going to cross this...
African crises: The ineffectiveness of the African Union
Addis Ababa, Feb 7, 2020 – Seven years ago, amid extravagant celebrations marking the African Union’s 50th anniversary, the continent’s heads of state declared they would “end all wars in Africa by 2020.” But as leaders travel to Addis...