North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Egypt and Turkey Test Pragmatic Rapprochement After Years of Estrangement
Egypt and Turkey are cautiously rebuilding relations after years of estrangement, driven by shifting regional dynamics and converging state interests. Recent defense-industrial cooperation and renewed diplomatic engagement point to a pragmatic recalibration rather than full political reconciliation, as both countries test whether managed coordination can replace prolonged rivalry.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
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...
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,...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
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)...
Sahel: Armed confrontations escalate in Niger and Mali
More troops killed by roadside bomb in central Mali Three Malian troops were killed and five wounded by a roadside bomb in the centre of the country Thursday, military sources said, in the latest attack in the Sahel state. The three -- members of the National Guard, a...
Tunisia: Rights groups decry mass arrests in Tunisia
Tunisian security forces have arrested at least 1,000 people during six nights of urban unrest between disaffected youths and riot police, human rights and other non-government groups said Thursday. The North African country, where the Covid-19 pandemic has deepened...
Sahel: Catholic priest missing in jihadist-hit Burkina Faso
A priest has gone missing in southeastern Burkina Faso, triggering fears of a kidnapping in the Sahel state, which is struggling with a five-year-old jihadist offensive, the Catholic Church said Wednesday. The bishop of Banfora, Lucas Kalfa Sanou, said Father Rodrigue...
Sahel: Roadside bomb kills soldiers in south Niger
Four soldiers were killed and eight others seriously injured by a roadside bomb in southeastern Niger, a region hit by jihadist attacks, the government said. The troops were pursuing "terrorists" on Monday following an attack the previous day on a military position in...
Sahel: Foreign forces unable to bring stability to Mali, four UN peacekeepers killed in Bambara Maoude
The death toll from an attack on UN peacekeepers in Mali has risen to four after another soldier died from his wounds, the United Nations said Thursday. A detachment of Ivorian peacekeepers was travelling between Douentza and Timbuktu in the northwest on Wednesday...
Breaking: Algeria: Terror attack in Tebessa kills five civilians
On 14 January 2020, a homemade bomb blast killed five civilians and wounded three others in eastern Algeria on Thursday, the defence ministry said, according to AFP. The attack happened at Oued Khenig-Roum near the municipality of Telidjane. . It added that a jihadist...