Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, ordered the holding of an early presidential election on 7 September 2024,...
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US-Niger relations face uncertainty, with Niamey’s pivot to Russia
Audio version: The news: The visit a few days ago of a US government delegation to Niamey, the capital of Niger, did...
Agriculture: Spanish farmers say Moroccan strawberries carry virus, as Morocco surpasses Spain as tomato supplier to EU
Agriculture is the theater of another kind of war where there are winners and losers. Worth billions of dollars, the...
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...
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...
Podcast: Sahel collapsing with the Jihadists, Russia and France in bitter fight over control ($)
In this audio podcast, Arezki Daoud shares an update on the situation in the Sahel, specifically in Mali and Burkina...
Africa: Competition between France and Russia over Africa is getting more violent
By Barbara Debou: On a night in early March, arsonists attacked a brewery owned by the French drinks giant Castel in...
Sahel and North Africa Week-in-Review: Mali and Tunisia remain center stage
Welcome to this week-in-review episode, for the period ending 10 March 2023, where we look at some of the key events...
Maghreb competition: The ridiculous debate over who should claim ownership of the Haiek veil
Opinion by Arezki Daoud: Competition between the regimes of Algeria and Morocco has gone mainstream. Now Algerians and...
Libya: Efforts by UN envoy to organize elections face resistance from the Libyans themselves
By Jihad Dorgham: The new UN envoy to Libya had hoped to usher in long-delayed elections, but his initiative is facing...
Tunisia: World Bank suspends new lending to Tunisia after President Saied issued racist comments
By Paul Raymond: The World Bank has effectively suspended new lending to cash-strapped Tunisia after President Kais...
Mali: Religious leaders reject draft constitution calling for secularism
An influential organisation of religious leaders in Mali on Tuesday called on its followers to reject a new...
Tunisia: Protesters demand release of political prisoners
Hundreds of Tunisians rallied Sunday in defiance of a protest ban, demanding the release of more than 20 prominent...
France to scale back military presence in Africa
By Valerie Leroux: President Emmanuel Macron on Monday announced a "noticeable reduction" of French troop presence in...
Russian soldiers in the Algerian Sahara ($)
Algeria has apparently taken a distance from Russia, largely under pressure from the west, but also due to factions of...
How Morocco’s image is taking a beating at the European Parliament ($)
Morocco’s image in the European Parliament has taken a hit these days with its members (MEPs) investigating...
Sahel: Burkina Faso junta issues decree to requisition gold from mining companies ($)
Burkina Faso is drowning in economic and financial hardship and the ongoing security environment mean that the country...
Africa: Troubled African nations say they want to restore some “democratic” order
By Hillary Orinde: The African Union insisted on Sunday it had "zero tolerance" for undemocratic changes of power and...
Morocco: Inflation exceeds 8%, unions protest economic hardship, defy government’s ban on marches
Moroccan trade union activists protested Sunday in the capital Rabat and other cities to denounce surging costs of...
Algeria arrests analyst Raouf Farrah, keeps elderly mother of opposition figure under court supervision
The mother of prominent French-Algerian activist Amira Bouraoui has been released from custody but remains under court...
Tunisia: Police call head of dissolved opposition party Ennahdha for more questioning
The head of Tunisia's dissolved parliament is facing a new police inquiry, his Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party said...
Sahel: The sad plight of children in the Sahel’s conflict zones
By Amaury Hauchard: After fleeing the jihadists who threatened their remote village, Aichata Hassan had no idea that...
Africa security: Gulf of Guinea facing growing threat of instability
Criminals in northern Ghana tried to blow up a bridge using explosives for the first time in a region where the...
Devastation in Turkey and Syria: Death toll from quakes nears 8,000, figure likely to increase sharply
By Remi Banet with Youssef Karwashan in Aleppo: Rescuers in Turkey and Syria battled bitter cold Tuesday in a race...
Sahel: Mali expels head of the human rights division of UN’s MINUSMA mission
UN human rights chief Volker Turk on Monday slammed Mali's expulsion of the top rights representative in the troubled...
Security: Escalation of Russia-Ukraine war could transform crisis into global conflict
By Amélie Bottolier-Depois: UN chief Antonio Guterres warned nations Monday that he fears the likelihood of further...
Tunisia: Government of Kais Saied now targets trade union leaders
A powerful Tunisian trade union Wednesday condemned the arrest of one of its top officials, saying it was linked to...
Sahel: French army to withdraw from Burkina Faso
France said Wednesday it will withdraw its contingent of hundreds of troops stationed in Burkina Faso within a month,...
Morocco/Qatar: Probe on corruption scandal and bribery in EU parliament set to intensify
By Matthieu Demeestere: Under the terms of a plea deal struck with Belgian investigators, former Italian lawmaker ...
Sahel: Soldiers rescue women and babies abducted by suspected jihadists in N. Burkina Faso
By Armel Baily: Soldiers rescued a group of 62 women and four babies abducted by suspected jihadists last week in...
Sahel: Russia strengthens its presence in the Sahel with delivery of warplanes to Mali
Mali's military rulers received more warplanes and helicopters from Russia Thursday, an AFP correspondent noted, the...
Podcast: Sahel and North Africa week in review 7 Jan 2023
Greetings to our second episode of Week in Review and a quick summary of what we are tracking in the Sahel and in...
Egypt starts the year with a disastrous economic environment and social tension
By Mona Salem and Sarah Benhaida: Public anger has been growing for months in Egypt over a severe dollar crunch and...
Morocco: EU parliament worker and boyfriend of arrested Greek MEP implicates Morocco in corruption scandal
The EU on Wednesday defended a trip by its top diplomat to Morocco, which has been linked, along with Qatar, to a...
Migration: Tragedy at sea with dead-by-drowning of 13 Moroccan migrants in failed sea crossing
The bodies of 13 Moroccans have been recovered after their boat sank off the country's southern coast while attempting...
Libya: 35-year-old Lockerbie bombing case gets into Libyan politics
By Jihad Dorgham: Libya's Tripoli-based leadership is facing a public backlash for handing Washington a suspect in the...
Tunisia: Political crisis worsens with arrest of former PM Laarayedh
Tunisian police have arrested former prime minister Ali Laarayedh, his Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party said Tuesday,...
Tunisia: President faces turmoil after election turnout fell below 9%
By Kaouther Larbi and Francoise Kadri: Tunisia plunged into political uncertainty Sunday as its main opposition...
Podcast: Food shortages and rising cost of commodities in Tunisia: briefly explained
Arezki Daoud of MEA Risk and The North Africa Journal visited Tunisia this November and is bringing better...
Algeria sentences stunning number of people to death over forest fires
An Algerian court Thursday sentenced 49 people to death over the lynching of a man falsely accused of starting deadly...
Sahel: Insurgents make major gains in northeast Mali
By Amaury Hauchard Jihadists aligned with the Islamic State group are advancing in northeastern Mali, prompting...
Sahel: US concerned about worsening crisis in Mali, blames Russia’s Wagner Group
By Portia Crowe Mali's security situation has become "significantly worse" due to the ruling junta's choices,...
Libya: Tripoli-based government inks controversial defense agreements with Turkey
Libya's Tripoli-based prime minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah signed two deals with Turkey's defence minister on Tuesday,...