North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Sahel: Community Mourns Mariam Cissé, Killed by Militants in Northern Mali
Mariam Cissé, a prominent content creator from Tonka, Mali, was abducted and publicly executed by armed militants in the Goundam district of the Timbuktu region. Her killing, believed to be linked to videos she posted about armed activity in local markets, has drawn widespread shock online and underscored the dangers facing civilians and public figures in militant-controlled parts of northern Mali.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Sahel: French army to withdraw from Burkina Faso
France said Wednesday it will withdraw its contingent of hundreds of troops stationed in Burkina Faso within a month, after the junta ruling the Sahel country demanded the pullout. The withdrawal will mark the latest scaling down of France's military presence in...
Sahel: Doctor working for WHO in Mali abducted
The World Health Organization said Tuesday that one of its doctors had been abducted in Mali, adding that the motivation behind an attack on his car was unclear. "We deplore the abduction of WHO colleague Dr Mahamadou Diawara, who was taken by unidentified assailants...
Sahel: Soldiers rescue women and babies abducted by suspected jihadists in N. Burkina Faso
By Armel Baily: Soldiers rescued a group of 62 women and four babies abducted by suspected jihadists last week in northern Burkina Faso, state television and a security source said Friday. The news came just hours after security sources said a series of attacks on...
Western Sahara: Brahim Ghali reelected head of Polisario Front
The Polisario Front, which seeks independence for Western Sahara, re-elected its leader Friday in its first vote since the breakdown of a UN-supervised truce with Morocco, which controls most of the disputed territory. Brahim Ghali, 73, was elected to a new three-year...
Sahel: UN peacekeeping mission in Mali at risk amid shortage of troops
By Amélie Bottolier-Depois: The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali is "unsustainable" without more personnel, according to a draft UN report obtained by AFP, which suggests a possible withdrawal of troops if key conditions are not met. The mission, known by its acronym...
Sahel: Jihadist violence intensifies in Burkina Faso
Attacks in Burkina Faso have increased since October and now especially target civilians, according to junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traore, who took power last year on a vow to quell jihadist violence. The extremists are switching tactics to focus on civilians, Traore...
Sahel: Jihadists in Burkina Faso also abduct children and babies
Investigators now believe that last week's raid by suspected jihadists in Burkina Faso led to the abduction of around 60 women, girls and babies, a regional prosecutor said Thursday. Earlier reports had suggested that around 50 women had been taken, said a statement...
Sahel: Russia strengthens its presence in the Sahel with delivery of warplanes to Mali
Mali's military rulers received more warplanes and helicopters from Russia Thursday, an AFP correspondent noted, the latest in a series of deliveries from its new top military and political ally. AFP counted eight planes and two helicopters at a ceremony attended by...
Mali: Security agents remain targets of attacks in Mali, four killed in Segou
Four gendarmes were killed and three others injured on Sunday after being ambushed in western Mali, a region prone to jihadist attacks, the paramilitary police said. Two police vehicles were torched and two others, equipped with machine guns, were captured by the...
Tunisia: Nine women sentenced to prison for plotting to kill government minister
Tunisia has jailed nine members of an all-women "terrorist" gang accused of plotting to assassinate a government minister, media reported Thursday. In the North African nation's first known case of an all-woman jihadist group, two of the ringleaders were jailed for 25...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Sahel: Boko Haram hits village in Chad, kills residents
Boko Haram jihadists killed at least 10 civilians and kidnapped seven others in an attack on a village in the troubled Lake Chad region on Friday, an army officer and local official said. "At around 3 am (0200 GMT), Boko Haram fighters attacked the Tenana village...
International court takes up case of Malian man accused of war crimes
The Hague, July 14, 2020 - A Malian jihadist police chief committed "unimaginable crimes" during a reign of terror in the fabled shrine city of Timbuktu, prosecutors told the International Criminal Court at the start of his trial Tuesday. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag...
Morocco: Four arrested in Nador on suspicion of terrorism
Rabat, July 7, 2020 - Morocco on Tuesday arrested four alleged members of a "terrorist cell" linked to the Islamic State group who had plotted to attack "sensitive sites" in the kingdom, the interior ministry said. The men, aged between 21 and 26, were arrested in...
Mali: New massacre in Mopti’s Bandiagara region
Unidentified armed men massacred 31 civilians in simultaneous attacks on several Mali villages this week, then killed nine soldiers responding to the assault as violence surges in the country's conflict-wracked centre. An Islamist insurgency that erupted in the north...
France’s massive challenges in the Sahel
France is increasingly optimistic about the effectiveness of its anti-jihadist campaign in the Sahel, but experts caution that short-term successes will not by themselves bring lasting victory. President Emmanuel Macron will travel to the Mauritanian capital...
Algeria: Two more troops killed in counterinsurgency sweep in Medea
Algiers, June 28, 2020 - Two Algerian soldiers, including an officer, were killed when a bomb exploded during an army operation in the north of the country, the defence ministry said Sunday. Captain Fateh Bensmail and Sergeant Zakaria Khaldi were killed Saturday...
Libya: Sudan captures alleged mercenaries headed to Libya
Sudan said Sunday it has arrested 122 of its nationals as they headed to neighbouring Libya to fight as "mercenaries", state media reported. Libya's UN-recognised unity government has long accused Sudan of sending fighters to back military strongman Khalifa Haftar who...
Mali: Two UN troops killed in attack in Tarkint
Bamako, June 14, 2020 - Gunmen have killed two UN peacekeepers in a region of northwestern Mali wracked by jihadist violence, the UN said Sunday. A UN convoy travelling between the towns of Tessalit and Gao was attacked Saturday evening by "armed individuals" who...
Sahel: Week after death of Jihadist leader, insurgents ambush troops in central Mali, kill dozens
Bamako, June 15, 2020 - Around 40 Malian troops were dead or listed as missing after their convoy was ambushed in central Mali, military sources said on Monday, blaming the assault on jihadists. About a dozen vehicles came under attack on Sunday at Bouka Were, some...
Beyond the Sahel: Jihadi contagion spreads to the Ivory Coast
Korhogo, Ivory Coast, June 11, 2020 - Dozens of suspected jihadists attacked a frontier post on Ivory Coast's border with Burkina Faso before dawn on Thursday, killing around 10 soldiers, security sources said. It is the first assault by Islamist extremists on Ivorian...