North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
How the US Intervention in Venezuela is Reviving Global South Fears of Power Politics
The US military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is being closely watched across Africa, not as a regional Latin American event, but as part of a broader pattern of great-power behavior toward the Global South. African institutions, governments, and analysts are reading the raid alongside long-standing grievances over external intervention, from France’s contested role in the Sahel to Russia’s expanding security footprint and the growing presence of other outside actors. While few African voices defend Maduro’s record, many express concern that the seizure of a sitting president without multilateral authorization reinforces a system where sovereignty and international law apply unevenly. The episode has intensified debates across the continent about precedent, deterrence, and vulnerability, particularly for resource-rich and non-aligned states, and has revived fears that hierarchy, rather than rules, still shapes how power is exercised in international affairs.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Sahel: Al-Qaeda-linked group claims deadly Mali attack on UN peacekeepers
An Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group on Tuesday claimed responsibility for an attack last week in Mali's deeply troubled north that killed two United Nations peacekeepers. Mali has been grappling with a political and security crisis since 2012 when separatist and...
Sahel: Second UN peacekeeper dies after attack in Mali
A UN peacekeeper has died of wounds sustained in an attack last week in Mali, raising the death toll in the assault to two, the United Nations said Monday. Mali has been grappling with a political and security crisis since 2012 when separatist and jihadist rebellions...
Mali: Attack in Tombouctou claims life of UN peacekeeper
Today, 09/06, one of our patrols near #Ber town, North of #Mali was targeted by a complex attack. It encountered an Improvised Explosive Device followed by a direct arm fire attack . Preliminary information: 1 #peacekeeper killed and 4 seriously injured. Updates will...
Tunisia: Army helicopter crashes at sea, killing four soldiers
Four Tunisian soldiers died when a military helicopter crashed into the sea off the country's northwest, President Kais Saied said Thursday, stressing the need "to renew military equipment". Offering his condolences to the bereaved families, the president said in a...
Chad: Army and FNDJT fighters clashing in Tibesti region
Government forces and rebels clashed for a week in a desert region of northern Chad, according to conflicting tolls from both sides. The mountainous Tibesti region is a traditional battleground between the army and rebel groups that have sought for years to oust the...
Sahel: Over 16 million people need aid in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger
More than 16 million people affected by conflict and climate change in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger need humanitarian aid, according to an NGO report published on Monday. This represents a 172 percent rise on 2016, the US International Rescue Committee said in its...
Morocco: Dozen Israeli soldiers in Morocco for military exercises
Israeli soldiers will for the first time take part in military exercises in Morocco when the biggest war games event in Africa kicks off Tuesday, the Israeli army said. "This is the first time that the IDF is taking an active part in the 'African Lion' international...
Egyptian policeman clashes with Israeli soldiers, kills three
Three Israeli soldiers and a member of Egypt's security forces were killed Saturday in a rare exchange of fire near the border between the two countries, official sources from both sides said. The Israeli army said an Egyptian assailant shot dead two soldiers "in the...
Libya: Two militia groups aligned with Tripoli government clash in Tripoli, spread terror
Gunshots rang out in Libya's capital on Monday following hours of fighting between two armed groups both aligned with the divided country's UN-backed government, local medics and media reported. Several residents in Tripoli were lightly wounded in the clashes which...
Libya uses drones to attack smugglers in west of the country
Forces of Libya's Tripoli-based government launched drone strikes against suspected smuggling sites in the country's west Friday as they pursued a campaign begun over a week ago, local media reported. "Strikes targeted Zuwara" some 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Sahel: West Niger gripped by deadly violence
Nineteen civilians were killed when armed men raided a village in west Niger close to the border with Mali, a local official told AFP on Sunday, in the latest bloodshed in the troubled region. "For the moment, the number of dead stands at 19 and two people have been...
Sahel: Terror attack in Burkina Faso claims lives of eight militiamen
Eight civilian members of an auxiliary force in Burkina Faso's anti-jihadist campaign died in an ambush on Wednesday in the north and others were still missing, security and local sources said. "A patrol of the VDP (Volunteers for the Defence of the Motherland) fell...
Niger’s new president term starts amid intense violence
Niger's defence ministry said Sunday that four of its soldiers had been killed the day before in twin "terrorist" attacks in the country's southeast, the day after President Mohamed Bazoum was sworn in. "Several terrorists" had been killed in the simultaneous Saturday...
Africa: With terror groups intensely fixated on Africa, security outlook feels gloomy
By Didier Lauras - From the arid expanses of the Sahel into the Sinai Peninsula and now Mozambique, Africa is proving fertile ground for jihadist groups looking to bolster their notoriety by exploiting conflicts that have often festered for years. The fighters who...
Libyan authorities on the hunt for killers of Al Warfalli, arrest suspect
Libyan authorities Saturday announced increased security measures in second city Benghazi and the arrest of two suspects in connection with the killing of a militia leader wanted by the International Criminal Court. Security is precarious in Benghazi with frequent...
Sahel: Attacks on Niger targets continue
Eleven people were killed on Wednesday in western Niger, a flashpoint for jihadist attacks, when armed men on motorbikes raided three villages near the Malian border, local officials said. "The assailants arrived on several motorbikes at around 5pm. They killed three...
Sahel: Niger’s Tahoua region targeted by terror groups, dozens killed in fresh raids
Scores of people have died in the deadliest suspected jihadist massacre ever to hit Niger, the government said Monday, underscoring the huge security challenge facing new President Mohamed Bazoum. Government spokesman Zakaria Abdourahamane said 137 people had died in...
Tunisia: Landmines claim more lives in Kasserine, two children killed in blast
Two children were killed and a woman wounded in a landmine blast Thursday in a mountainous region of western Tunisia known as a base for jihadists, the government said. The explosion occurred on Mount Salloum, in a military zone in the marginalised region of...
Senegal braces for Jihadist spillover from the Sahel
Senegal's President Macky Sall said Tuesday that his native country and neighbouring West African states must "prepare to do battle" to stop jihadist expansion beyond the Sahel. In an interview broadcast that day by French radio RFI, the president also urged a more...
Libya: Interior minister Fathi Bashagha escapes assassination attempt
The powerful interior minister of Libya's unity government survived an assassination attempt Sunday, an aide said, sparking fears of resurgent violence despite UN-led peace efforts. Fathi Bashagha's convoy "was fired on from an armoured car while he was on the...