The departure of France’s interior minister Bruno Retailleau marks a substantial moment against the backdrop of...
Politics Bound
Libya’s Path to Stability: Still Blocked by Fragmentation and Armed Rivalries
Libya closes 2025 still caught in a web of armed rivalries, political fragmentation, and recurring violence that...
Why Morocco’s Protests Aren’t Just About Youth: The Fight for Dignity and Justice
Transcript Morocco is once again at the center of deep civil unrest, drawing international attention—not least from...
Nigeria downgraded by Fitch Ratings
Abuja, April 6, 2020 - Nigeria has asked for $6.9 billion from multilateral lenders including the International...
Algeria: Regime jails human rights activist Abdelouahab Fersaoui
Algiers, April 6, 2020 - An Algerian court on Monday sentenced another leading figure in the country's anti-regime...
Algeria’s political police unleash terror on journalists and others
Journalist Meriem Chorfi, Editor-in-chief Mouhoub Rafik, and Mohamed Laamari, the Publisher of Algerian newspaper Sawt...
Tunisia: Untested Prime Minister gets super powers thanks to Covid-19
Tunisia's parliament on Saturday gave the prime minister special powers for two months to allow for the accelerated...
Algeria’s political police punishes another journalist
Algiers, April 5, 2020 - An Algerian court on Sunday sentenced to eight months in jail a journalist who had provided...
Sahel: Mali held elections despite the pandemic
Bamako, April 2, 2020 - Turnout for Mali's parliamentary elections this week was 36 percent, officials said on...
Algeria is committing “acts of physical endangerment” with revenge arrests
April 3, 2020 - Reporters Without Borders has accused Algeria's government of taking advantage of the coronavirus...
Tunisia wants global approach to pandemic, but Security Council in disarray
April 1, 2020 - Tunisia has proposed a UN Security Council resolution calling for "urgent international action" to...
Algeria: Inner-clan warfare continues inside the regime, ex-head of police gets stiff prison sentence
Algiers, April 1, 2020 - An Algerian court issued heavy prison sentences Wednesday to a powerful former police chief...
Algeria: A dictator’s cozy retirement and the whereabouts of Bouteflika
Algiers, March 31, 2020 - A year after the unexpected downfall of Algeria's longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika,...
MENA (MidEast/North Africa) regimes increase their repression
Cairo, March 29, 2020 - Armoured vehicles in the streets, hundreds arrested, smartphone surveillance -- sweeping...
Libya does the right thing: it releases prisoners in pretrial detention amid Covid-19
Tripoli, March 29, 2020 - Libya's justice ministry announced Sunday over 450 prisoners were being freed in a bid to...
North Africa faces unprecedented economic crisis
Listen to the podcast above or read the transcript below. Download MP3 file here. 26 March 2020: By Arezki Daoud:...
Sahel: Mali opposition leader Soumaila Cisse goes missing
Bamako, March 25, 2020 - Leading Malian opposition leader Soumaila Cisse went missing in the war-torn centre of the...
Algeria: Taking advantage of a freeze in the Hirak, regime decides to keep Karim Tabbou in prison
On 24 March, an Algiers Court canceled the release from prison of political activist Karim Tabbou, shamelessly taking...
Algeria: The empty streets of Algiers
Algiers, March 20, 2020 - For the first time in over a year, the streets of the Algerian capital were quiet and almost...
Morocco: Journalist gets prison sentence for criticizing judge in a tweet
Rabat, March 17, 2020- Moroccan journalist and human rights activist Omar Radi said Tuesday he had been handed a...
Algeria prepares for a pause of the Hirak movement, president bans gatherings
Opposition figures in and outside of Algeria have been issuing statements calling for the halt in the anti-government...
UAE and Morocco in diplomatic freeze (§)
To the amazement of the Moroccan monarchy, the United Arab Emirates has had no ambassador in Rabat for more than a...
Several Muslim countries close mosques, conservatives push back
Several Muslim countries have decided to close their mosques and ban collective prayers to protect their populations...
Algerians maintain their anti-regime protests despite COVID-19
ME Risk Brief: Large crowds surged this Friday, 13 March in Algiers and in many Algerian cities for the 56th week of...
Algeria: Court sentences opposition activist Karim Tabbou to one year in prison, set to be released next week
Algiers, March 11, 2020 - A court Wednesday sentenced Karim Tabbou, a key figure in Algeria's anti-government protest...
Sahel: US appoints new Sahel representative
Washington, March 8, 2020 - The State Department announced Sunday it had nominated J. Peter Pham, the envoy to...
Algeria: Police prevent Saturday protest rally in Algiers
Algiers, March 7, 2020 - Algerian police arrested around ten demonstrators at an anti-government protest in Algiers...
Coronavirus exposes the deep divisions in the Arab world
March 4, 2020 - Egypt's government said Wednesday it will ban Qatari nationals from entry over fears of coronavirus...
Sahel: Central Mali riven by communal violence
Mopti, Mali, March 4, 2020 - Less than a year after more than 160 Fulani civilians were massacred at dawn in Ogossagou...
Algeria: Anti-regime Hirak figure Fodil Boumala acquitted by court
Algiers, March 1, 2020 - An Algerian court on Sunday acquitted Fodil Boumala, a key figure in a protest movement that...
Egypt: Dozens sentenced to death in Egypt over terror attacks
Cairo, March 2, 2020 - (photo of Hisham Ashmawy) An Egyptian court Monday sentenced to death an ex-special forces...
Libya: UN point men for Libya, Ghassan Salame, resigns
Tripoli, March 2, 2020 (AFP) - The UN's envoy to war-plagued Libya, Ghassan Salame, on Monday announced his ...
Sahel: France angry at Mali envoy over remarks on “rowdy behavior of French troops”
Feb 27, 2020 - France on Thursday summoned Mali's ambassador after dismissing as "false" and "unacceptable" his...
Algeria: Court sentences drug baron to prison, acquits president’s son in real estate corruption case
Algiers, Feb 27, 2020 - The son of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been acquitted in a high-profile...
Tunisia: At last, Tunisia has a new government
Tunis, Feb 27, 2020 - Tunisia's new government won a confidence vote in parliament on Thursday, after more than four...
Corruption in Algeria: Prosecutor calls for two-year jail term for President’s son
The public prosecutor asked a judge in Algiers to sentence Kamel Chikhi, known as "El Bouchi" (the Butcher), to 10...
Algeria: The dizzying pace of the anti-corruption campaign and the clan warfare
The Algerian legal system has resumed its anti-corruption campaign with the arrest this week of several business...
Libya: Protagonists have no appetite for talk
Geneva, Feb 26, 2020 - UN-hosted talks between the warring sides in Libya that were supposed to start on Wednesday...
Sahel: The African Union to the rescue
Addis Ababa, Feb 27, 2020 - The African Union confirmed Thursday that it expected to send a temporary deployment of...
Moroccans rally for democracy and better living conditions
Tens of thousands of Moroccans took to the streets of Casablanca on Sunday, 23 February 2020, to renew their demand...
Egypt former strong-man Hosni Mubarak dies at 91
Cairo, Feb 25, 2020 - Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak ruled with an iron fist for 30 years before being deposed...
Libyans propose ceasefire, slam international inaction
Geneva, Feb 24, 2020 (By Nina LARSON- AFP) - Libya's warring sides have hashed out a draft ceasefire agreement, the UN...
Algeria: Pro-democracy activist Fodil Boumala on trial, prosecutor wants one year’s prison term
Algiers, Feb 24, 2020 - An Algerian prosecutor is seeking a year's prison sentence for Fodil Boumala, a leading figure...