North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Algeria and Niger Relaunch Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline After Diplomatic Freeze
Algeria and Niger have ended months of strained relations and announced the operational launch of the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, a 4,000-kilometer project linking Nigerian gas fields to European markets through Niger and Algeria. The move signals both a diplomatic reset and a renewed push to position North Africa as a strategic energy corridor.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
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...
Sahel: Full-blown war in central and north Mali
Tuareg-dominated separatist groups said on Saturday that they had inflicted heavy losses on the Malian military in an attack in the troubled country's centre. The rebels said they had counted 98 dead soldiers. The claim came in a statement from the Permanent Strategic...
Mali: Al-Qaeda offshoot intensifies attacks on Mali army
@northafricajournalMali #Lere: An attack on two #military camps in northern #Mali claimed by #Touaregs killed five #soldiers, while 11 others are missing. https://North-Africa.com ♬ original sound - The North Africa Journal The Malian army has reported attacks on two...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
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...
Sahel: Mali launches military offensive to retake town of Anderamboukane from insurgents
Malian forces and local armed groups have launched a bid to recapture a jihadist-held border town in a region where hundreds of civilians have died in the past few months, sources there say. Fighting has been unfolding over the last few days at the strategic town of...
Burkina Faso: Terror attack on Karma mine leaves two dead
Unidentified gunmen on Thursday killed a soldier and a civilian in an attack on a gold mine in northern Burkina Faso, a security source said. The pre-dawn attack at the Karma mine near Ouahigouya saw "several dozen armed men, probably terrorists" raid the facility's...
Togo: Al-Qaeda affiliate JNIM claims May attack in Togo
A Mali-based coalition of Al-Qaeda aligned militants has claimed responsibility for an attack in Togo last month, the SITE Intelligence monitoring group said on Friday. The Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) has been expanding geographically, threatening...
Sahel: Six killed in attacks on Burkina security forces
Two soldiers and four civilian volunteers with Burkina Faso's security forces have been killed in clashes with suspected jihadists, army headquarters said on Thursday. A soldier and four Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP) were killed on Thursday in...
Sahel: Three foreign nationals kidnapped in Mali
Armed men have kidnapped an Italian couple and their child as well as a Togolese national in southeastern Mali, a local official and a Malian security source told AFP Friday. They said the abductions occurred late Thursday about 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the...
Mali withdraws from G5 Sahel security force
Mali's junta announced Sunday that it will quit a West African anti-jihadist force after it was blocked from assuming the presidency of the regional group. The country's departure from the G5 Sahel security force deepens its isolation after its neighbours hit it with...
Sahel: North and south Burkina Faso attacked this weekend
Around 40 people, many of them civilian volunteers with the army, have been killed in suspected jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso, local sources and security officials said on Monday. In the northern region of Sahel, around 25 people were killed in two assaults on...
Libya: Violent clashes in west Tripoli
Violent clashes rocked a western area of the Libyan capital overnight and until Sunday morning, an interior ministry source said, as local media reported the death of a militia commander. Janzour, on the western outskirts of Tripoli, is home to the headquarters of...
Sahel terror spreads to Togo with new attack in Kpinkankandi
Eight soldiers were killed on Wednesday and 13 wounded in a "terrorist attack" in northern Togo near the border with Burkina Faso, the government said, using a term typically designating jihadists. Togo's troops are deployed in the north of the country to try and...