North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Burkina Faso Faces New Security Tensions Amid Coup Allegations
Burkina Faso saw a surge in political tension after warnings of a possible destabilization attempt triggered overnight mobilizations in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso. Security forces placed several military sites on alert as arrests were reported and social media claims pointed to internal and external actors. While the scale of the threat remains unclear, the episode reflects persistent instability under the country’s military transition and raises questions about internal cohesion, governance, and the long-term outlook for political order.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Bourkina Faso: 50 insurgents killed in Loroum as they tried to ambush food convoy
Two civilians and at least 50 "terrorists" were killed in jihadist-hit northern Burkina Faso when a food convoy being escorted by troops was ambushed, the armed forces said on Thursday. The incident happened on Wednesday near Tibou in Loroum province bordering Mali,...
Burkina Faso junta likely to delay return to civilian rule, rejects talks with insurgents
Photo: PM Apollinaire Joachim Kyélem de Tambèla: Burkina Faso's prime minister on Tuesday ruled out negotiations with jihadist insurgents who control swathes of the country, while suggesting that security risks could delay the country's return to civilian rule. His...
Tunisia says it arrested five “IS militants” in Sfax
Tunisia's national guard on Friday announced the arrest of a suspected Islamic State group member in possession of explosives who was planning "four simultaneous terrorist operations" in the country. The suspect was arrested in Tunisia's second city of Sfax on its...
Sahel: Another bloody Sunday in Burkina Faso
More than a dozen people, thought to be mostly shepherds, have been killed in an attack in eastern Burkina Faso, security and local sources told AFP on Monday. On Sunday "several dozen terrorists attacked the outskirts of Kompienga" -- the capital of the province of...
Burkina Faso: At least 12 civilians killed in northern village of Kiè
At least twelve civilians were killed in an attack by suspected jihadists in an area of western Burkina Faso bordering Mali, a local official and residents told AFP on Saturday. The village of Kie was attacked by "unidentified armed individuals on Friday evening", a...
Sahel: More terror attacks on civilians in Burkina Faso
Around 40 people have been killed in a fresh wave of attacks in Burkina Faso, in areas where jihadist attacks are rife, sources said on Friday. In the most recent violence, around 20 people were killed in a series of raids on villages in Burkina Faso's troubled north,...
Burkina Faso: Twenty civilians killed in two terror attacks in Koulpelogo
Around 20 people in east-central Burkina Faso have been killed in attacks by suspected jihadists, sources said on Friday. Armed men on Monday raided the village of Kaongo in the border province of Koulpelogo, killing at least 11 people including two women and...
Sahel: Herders and farmers’ conflicts intensify in southern Chad
Eleven villagers in southern Chad have been killed by "bandits," in a region troubled by violence between herders and sedentary farmers, the military said on Thursday. The attack occurred on Wednesday, coinciding with an announcement by Chad that it had joined with...
Tunisian president evokes ‘tolerance’ after synagogue attack
Tunisian President Kais Saied has hosted Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders following a deadly mass shooting outside a local synagogue, telling them Tunisia was a country of "tolerance and coexistence". The May 9 attack on the resort island of Djerba killed five...
Sahel: French military allegedly tried to use journalist Olivier Dubois to track JNIM leader before his kidnapping
French forces tried to use a journalist's visit to northern Mali to track a jihadist leader but failed to prevent the reporter from being kidnapped by the militants, French media reported Wednesday. The report comes amid an investigation into what happened to...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Tunisia: IS claims killing of 4 Tunisia soldiers near Mount Mghila
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the February 3 killing of four soldiers in a rugged region of central Tunisia, SITE Intelligence Group reported. The US monitor of jihadist groups said late Thursday that the soldiers were killed in three blasts...
Libya: Mortar attack on Sebha kills child
The United Nations on Wednesday condemned a suspected "targeted mortar attack" in southern Libya that it said killed a child and wounded 29 people. The reported attack in the Sebha region, some 650 kilometres (400 miles) south of the capital Tripoli, took place on...
Sahel: No French troop drawdown from the Sahel, Macron announces escalation ahead
Macron says France to “decapitate” Al-Qaeda in the Sahel France will intensify its efforts to help "decapitate" Qaeda-linked groups in the Sahel, President Emmanuel Macron told regional leaders via video conference on Tuesday, according to AFP. Macron said the efforts...
Sahel: UN peacekeepers from Togo wounded in attack near Kerena in Mali
Around 20 United Nations peacekeepers were wounded in an attack on their base in central Mali on Wednesday, a UN spokesperson said, offering a provisional toll. Unidentified militants attacked a temporary base near Kerena, a village in the war-torn centre of the...
Algeria: High-profile trial of terror group involved in murder of French hiker postponed
A trial in Algeria over the murder of French mountaineer Herve Gourdel by jihadists in 2014 was postponed Thursday due to the prime suspect's ill health, judicial sources said. Abdelmalek Hamzaoui, an alleged jihadist, had arrived at court for the opening hearing of...
Mali: Insurgents in armored vehicles kill ten Mali soldiers in Boni
Ten troops were killed in Mali's troubled central region early Wednesday when their camp came under attack from jihadists, security sources said. Their position at Boni, located between Douentza and Hombori in the Mopti region, was attacked by "heavily armed...
Tunisia: Soldiers killed in blast during anti-terror sweep at Mount Mghila
A landmine killed four Tunisian soldiers on Wednesday during an counter-terrorism operation in mountainous central Tunisia, the defence ministry said. "Four soldiers who were part of a military unit tasked with carrying out a combing operation of Mount Mghila looking...
Sahel: More unrest in Mali with the killing of six soldiers in Boulkessy and Mondoro
Twin attacks on the army in central Mali killed six soldiers, while some 30 suspected jihadists were also left dead in a fightback with help from French troops, the military said Sunday. The attacks occurred overnight Saturday to Sunday near the border with Burkina...
Burkina Faso: Abbot Rodrigue Sanon found dead in the Cascades region
A priest missing since Tuesday in Burkina Faso's jihadist-plagued southwest has been found dead, security and local sources said Thursday. "The priest's lifeless body was found in the Toumousseni Forest" in the Cascades region bordering Ivory Coast and Mali, a...
Libya: Russian and other foreign mercenaries still active in Libya
Foreign forces ignored a deadline to pull out of Libya as scheduled Saturday under a UN-backed ceasefire deal, highlighting the fragility of peace efforts after a decade of conflict. Satellite images broadcast by CNN show a trench running tens of kilometres (miles)...