North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Southern Libya Boils Over: Three Haftar Soldiers Killed in Border Raid Near Niger
Three soldiers loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar were killed and several others captured in coordinated attacks on border posts near Niger, underscoring how southern Libya has become a key fault line in the country’s fractured security landscape. Fighters claiming to represent “revolutionaries of the South” say they are targeting Haftar’s forces over dire living conditions and alleged resource plunder, as cross-border armed groups test the limits of state control from Al-Tum to the Salvador Pass.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Niger ups pressure on UN to vacate the country
Niger's military leaders have ordered the United Nations coordinator to leave the country within 72 hours, blaming the world body for hindering international recognition of the post-coup regime. The expulsion order comes a day after the United States cut off more than...
Israel-Gaza conflicts bleeds into Egypt, policeman kills two Israeli tourists and their guide in Alexandria
An Egyptian policeman shot dead two Israeli tourists and their Egyptian guide Sunday, local media and Israeli authorities said, as war raged for a second day between Israel and Palestinian militants. Israel's National Security Council later said its citizens should...
Sahel: Touaregs say they seized military site in Gao province
Tuareg rebels on Wednesday claimed to have captured a camp of Mali's armed forces in the north of the country, where clashes have been escalating since August. The Upper Council for Azawad Unity (CUA) said in a brief statement on social networks that the army camp at...
Sahel: Nigeria endorses Algeria’s mediation plan for Niger
The Sahel issues are now the domain of the Algerian military, who have sidelined the president and his aids due to their connections with France. Sources say that the Algerian mediation is likely the result of an agreement with the United States, which has been...
UN and AU discuss funding for African peacekeeping
The security councils of the United Nations and African Union on Thursday began talks on funding for peacekeeping missions by the pan-African body on the continent. AU, the bloc of 55 African countries with a population of 1.4 billion people, has long struggled to...
Sahel: French forces are leaving Niger this week
France said Thursday that it would start withdrawing its troops from Niger this week after a falling-out with the post-coup regime, which insists the exit be carried out in accordance with its "conditions". The announcement by the French army follows weeks of tensions...
Sahel: 29 Niger soldiers killed by suspected jihadists
Twenty-nine soldiers were killed in western Niger in an attack by suspected jihadists, the defence ministry said on Monday night, declaring a three-day national mourning period. The soldiers were targeted using "improvised explosive devices and kamikaze vehicles by...
Mali preparing offensive against Tuareg fighters in north of the country
A Malian army convoy was moving closer towards the northern rebel stronghold Kidal on Tuesday, following a resumption of hostilities in the region, military and official sources said. A local official and a soldier in the column, speaking on condition of anonymity,...
Niger: Dozen soldiers killed in Jihadist attack in Tijane
A terrorist attack took place in the Tijiane region, Niger, on September 29, 2023, resulting in the death of 13 people, 12 of whom were soldiers. A Nigerien military unit was attacked by terrorists while patrolling the area. Seven of the soldiers died in combat and...
Sahel: Burkina’s new leader de-emphasizes importance of election
Elections in Burkina Faso are "not a priority" compared to "security", the country's military leader Captain Ibrahim Traore said Friday on state TV, almost a year to the day after coming to power in a coup. Traore, who had promised a return to democracy with...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Sahel: Terror onslaught continues in Burkina Faso, 10 killed in Yatenga
Ten civilians, including four security auxiliaries, have been killed by suspected jihadists in northern Burkina Faso, a security source said on Tuesday. Six civilians and four members of the VDP auxiliary force died on Monday in an attack in Sima, in Yatenga province,...
Libya: Dozens of suspects go on trial for alleged membership to IS
The trial opened Monday in Libya's western city of Misrata of 56 suspected Islamic State group militants captured after the 2016 fall of its bastion Sirte. The 56 suspects, out of a total of 320 facing trial, appeared in court before the trial was adjourned to...
Sahel: Suspected jihadists kill 4 Mali soldiers, 2 civilians in Tessit
At least four soldiers, two civilians and five assailants were killed on Sunday in an attack in a strategic border zone between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, Mali's army said. The army blamed the attack on "terrorists" in an announcement late Sunday, using the term it...
Sudan condemns Chadian group’s killing of 18
Sudan's foreign ministry on Saturday condemned the killing of 18 Sudanese people during an attack by an armed group from Chad, state media reported. The killings took place Thursday when Sudanese herders from West Darfur state were ambushed while following the trails...
Sahel: Bomb attack in Ouakan, central Mali kills civilians
At least 12 civilians have been killed in Mali by suspected jihadists who lured victims into a bomb attack, two elected officials and a police source told AFP on Saturday. "The jihadists first killed two civilians in Ouakan (a town near Bankass in central Mali) before...
Libya: Fighting between rival militias rocks El Jebs, south of Tripoli
Clashes between armed groups erupted overnight in Tripoli, according to local media reports, the latest violence to hit the Libyan capital. An AFP journalist heard gunfire and explosions around 1:00 am Saturday (2300 GMT) in the city. The fighting, with light and...
Sahel: Attack kills dozen soldiers in the troubled Bourzanga region of northern Burkina
Suspected jihadists in northern Burkina Faso have killed four soldiers and nine civilian auxiliaries, the army said on Friday. The attack on Thursday by "an armed terrorist group" in Bourzanga district also wounded 10 others, military headquarters said in a...
Sahel: French forces withdraw from Menaka base in northern Mali
French troops were on Monday handing back a military base in northeastern Mali ahead of a final withdrawal from the Sahel nation, France's army said, after nine years fighting a jihadist insurgency. The UN emissary there warned that the French withdrawal could leave...
Sahel: Insurgents kill dozen policemen in north Burkina Faso
Suspected jihadists killed 11 police overnight in an attack in northern Burkina Faso near the border with Niger, the army said on Friday. A gendarme brigade at Seytenga in the Sahel region came under a "terrorist attack", the military said. "Eleven gendarmes accepted...
Libya: New militia violence in Tripoli
A night of clashes between militias in the heart of a residential district of the Libyan capital Tripoli raised fears on Saturday of escalating violence in the conflict-riven country. The intense fighting that erupted late Friday between two armed groups that back...