North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Mali: After Kidal, The War Comes to Bamako
Mali’s military government lost Kidal to a joint FLA-JNIM offensive on April 26, 2026, after Russian Africa Corps personnel and Malian troops withdrew under rebel escort. The fall of the city, retaken by Bamako with Russian support in November 2023, exposes the limits of the junta’s sovereignty narrative and raises serious questions about the durability of Mali’s security model.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Defense: Morocco orders armored vehicles from Turkey ($)
Russia-Africa: From weapon sales to economic ties
By Arezki Daoud: Has the war in Ukraine deter Russia from engagement in Africa? Certainly not! We know on the security front, a growing number of African states are turning to Russia to supply them with military equipment and security services, judging by the...
Sahel: Russia to experience boost of its influence in the Sahel
By Arezki Daoud: Russia’s influence in the Sahel is about to expand further with more cooperation deals announced by Niger and Russia during the ongoing visit to Moscow of Niger’s Prime Minister and other senior officials. Speaking to Russian media, Niger’s Defense...
Egypt: One killed, six arrested in gun battle on Egypt-Israel border
A gunfire broke out near Nitzana, Israel, along the border crossing separating Egypt and Israel. The incident, which involved more than a dozen people, resulted in the death of one person. Six people were arrested. The Egyptian authorities insist that the incident was...
Egypt’s economy hit hard by Houthis’ attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea
The US and the UK hitting Houthi targets in Yemen is largely the result of a sense of panic taking place in commercial and business circles. The Houthis have clearly identified that there is a choke point that they can squeeze even more to get their positions heard....
Burkina Faso government says year-end army offensive killed hundreds of “terrorists” ($)
In a year-end offensive carried out by the Burkina Faso military from December 23, 2023 to January 2, 2024 in the East and Center-East regions, involving air and land assets, allegedly claimed the lives of 360 suspected terrorists. Authorities say terror chief Oumarou...
Sahel: Mali acquires lethal drones from Turkey
On January 4, 2024, the Malian military acquired six Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones. The military authorities say the drones will be used to “surveil the national territory, detect suspicious targets, track them and strike them, if necessary, with surgical precision.” ...
Four Mauritanian gold miners were killed last weekend near Gleibat El Foula ($)
Morocco-Mauritania relations: Tensions after killing by drone of Mauritanian civilians
The Moroccan media said the Mauritanian authorities have abruptly increase by 171% the customs duties applied to Moroccan goods entering Mauritania through the border site of El Guerguerat, at the southern tip of the Western Sahara. In its X account (formerly known as...
Tunisia neutralizes human smugglers
The Tunisian police reported on January 7, 2024 the dismantling of an alleged human trafficking network in the Sfax region. Authorities say the gang facilitated the illegal movement in and out of the Tunisian territory of sub-Saharan migrants. The operation consisted...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Sahel: Insurgency in northern Burkina Faso worsens
By Armel Baily At least 35 civilians were killed and 37 wounded Monday when an IED blast struck a convoy carrying supplies in Burkina Faso's jihadist-hit north, the governor of the Sahel region said. The landlocked African state is in the grip of a seven-year-old...
Tunisia: Clash in Mount Salloum near Algeria leaves three IS Jihadists dead
The Tunisian army said Friday it had killed three jihadists linked to the Islamic State group, during an operation in the country's west. The men, members of the "Soldiers of the Caliphate" group, were killed during a morning operation in the Mount Salloum area near...
Libya: Apparent calm hides potential for more violence
There is potential for new violence in Libya, a United Nations official said Tuesday, as the country faces delays in moving toward elections. Rosemary DiCarlo, under-secretary-general for political and peacekeeping affairs, told the Security Council she was worried...
Sahel: Intense violence in Mali sends thousands fleeing
Tens of thousands of people, many of them children, have fled to a town in northeastern Mali after fighting erupted in the jihadist-torn region, a local official said Wednesday. Since March, more than 65,000 people have arrived in the town of Menaka near the border...
Sahel: UN reports killing of civilians in a Mali army attack involving foreign troops
At least 50 civilians were killed and hundreds arrested in central Mali in April during an operation by the army and "foreign" personnel, the UN's peacekeeping mission said Wednesday. There was no immediate response from Mali's authorities to the allegations, just...
Sahel: Burkina Faso military launches counterinsurgency operations in the north
A soldier has been killed and at least 28 "terrorists neutralised" in two military operations in the north and east of Burkina Faso, the army said Monday. The landlocked Sahel state is in the grip of a seven-year-old insurgency that has claimed more than 2,000 lives...
Sahel/Chad: Government denies rebel attack on troops
A leading Chad rebel group said Saturday it had killed ten soldiers in the north of the country, a claim the government rejected as "fake news". The Military Command Council for the Salvation of the Republic (CCMSR) said troops had attacked its forces in the Wouri...
Sahel: Togo confronted with Jihadi movement from the Sahel
Togo's armed forces said Tuesday they had repelled a "terrorist" attack that injured "several" soldiers in the far northern village of Blamonga on the border with Burkina Faso. The attack, which took place on Monday, was the fifth in the country since last year, as...
Libya in turmoil again as tensions escalate
The United Nations on Tuesday voiced "deep concern" over growing tensions between rival Libyan forces, calling for "immediate" moves to calm the situation. The UN's mission UNSMIL said it was "following with deep concern the ongoing mobilisation of forces and threats...
Libya: New mass grave found in Tarhuna
Libyan authorities said Monday that seven unidentified bodies were found in the western town of Tarhuna, where scores of corpses have been discovered in mass graves in recent years. A "mass grave" was discovered on Sunday in a "public waste dump" and seven bodies have...