North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Algeria and Niger Restore Ties, Signaling a Shift in Sahel Diplomacy
Algeria and Niger restored diplomatic relations after nearly a year of tensions triggered by regional security disputes. The return of ambassadors and a planned high-level visit signal renewed cooperation centered on energy development, border security, and regional trade. The rapprochement highlights the strategic importance of the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline and reflects broader efforts to stabilize partnerships across the Sahel amid ongoing security and economic pressures.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
UN peacekeeping missions in Africa at a crossroads
By Amélie Bottollier-Depois: When Mali recently called for a UN peacekeeping force to depart the country "without delay," it was the latest sign of unease in parts of Africa over the role of the so-called Blue Helmet operations. Mali Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop...
Sahel: More trouble in Mali as Touareg groups in north are up in arms over recent junta actions
Armed groups that signed a landmark peace accord in insurgency-hit Mali have alleged widespread fraud during voting in a weekend referendum for a new constitution. The Permanent Strategic Framework (CSP), gathering political and military movements in northern Mali,...
Sahel: Burkina Faso endorses Mali’s call for the withdrawal of UN mission
Burkina Faso on Sunday hailed the "courageous decision" by Mali's military regime to call on the UN to withdraw its Minusma peacekeeping force, as both countries fight a jihadist insurgency. Mali's Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop on Friday had called for the immediate...
Debate: Does Saudi Arabia matter?
Does Saudi Arabia matter? An unscripted discussion between Arezki Daoud and Giorgio Cafiero: Saudi Arabia has been making big moves lately. Detente with Iran, re-engagement with Syria, a potential diplomatic path to solve the Yemen crisis and more. Domestically, its...
Algerians and Moroccans intensify Internet attacks on each other ($)
On November 9, 2021, Algerian radio station Radio M announced that the group of Moroccan hackers "MoroccoHack Team" was behind a cyberattack against the website of the Algerian Ministry of Finance. The former Algerian Minister of Communication and government...
Reports of Morocco getting Chinese drones amid rising feud with Algeria ($)
Media sources say Moroccan soldiers have recently undergone training in China on the use of new generation drones, the Wing Loong II. The information has not been confirmed by any official source and may be just information meant to confuse or a scare tactic as...
Niger adopting traditional conflict resolution methods to end communal conflicts
By Boureima Hama: Traditional chiefs, officials, human rights activists and NGOs have been criss-crossing the vast Tillaberi region of western Niger for several months. Their mission: to organise forums in a bid to ease community tensions revived by massacres of...
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...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
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...
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...