North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Sahel: Violence in Northern Mali Drives New Wave of Displacement Into Mauritania
More than 3,300 people have fled northern Mali into Mauritania in recent weeks as armed violence, fuel blockades, and civilian abuses intensify, underscoring the deepening humanitarian and security crisis spreading across the Sahel.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Libya: Mercenaries of Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar accused of war crimes
Amnesty International accused Monday an eastern Libyan armed group of committing war crimes and serious abuses to impose the rule of its leader's father, military strongman Khalifa Haftar. The elite force led by Saddam Haftar is aimed at "crushing any challenge" to...
Libya: Court in Tripoli sentences 17 IS members to death
A Libyan court on Monday sentenced 17 people to death after finding them guilty of joining the Islamic State group and carrying out atrocities in its name, the prosecution said. The Tripoli court also sentenced two people to life in prison and 14 others to lesser jail...
Sahel: Germany threatens withdrawal of troops from Mali by 2024
German forces will stay in Mali until 2024 only if the junta allows them to operate freely and elections are held, Germany's defence minister warned Bamako during a visit Thursday. Lambrecht said Germany's presence depended on being able to "fulfil our operational...
Sahel: Burkina Faso-Ghana relations sour over Russian mercenaries
A minister in Burkina Faso on Friday called a claim by Ghana's president that the war-torn Sahel nation has invited in Russian mercenaries "very serious" amid a worsening row between the neighbours. Burkina had earlier called in Ghana's ambassador in protest, the...
Mali: Two UN peacekeepers killed in Timbuktu
Two peacekeepers in Mali were killed and four others wounded in an attack on Friday, the UN mission said, in the latest blow to the international operation. Unidentified assailants opened fire on the police patrol in Timbuktu, according to the UN mission, known as...
West Africa to have a common military force
By Serge Daniel and Emmanuel Anule: West African leaders agreed on Sunday to create a regional force to intervene against jihadism and in the event of coups, a senior official said. Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States had decided to act to "take...
Sahel: Jihadist groups target southern Burkina Faso, near Ghana
Six civilians, four of them teachers, were killed in a suspected jihadist attack in southern Burkina Faso close to the border with Ghana, security officials and local sources said on Monday. Gunmen "opened fire on a group" in the town of Bittou on Sunday, a security...
Sahel: Insurgents make major gains in northeast Mali
By Amaury Hauchard Jihadists aligned with the Islamic State group are advancing in northeastern Mali, prompting terrified citizens to flee their homes, sources there say. The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) launched an offensive in the Gao and Menaka...
Western Sahara: As conflict persists, UN urges new talks
The UN Security Council called Thursday on the parties to the conflict over the disputed Western Sahara to resume negotiations toward a settlement. The vote on the US-drafted resolution was 13 in favor with abstentions by Kenya and Russia. Western Sahara, a Spanish...
Sahel: Deadly year for northern Mali
Armed groups affiliated with the Islamic State group have massacred hundreds of people in northeast Mali this year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Thursday, adding the state was not doing enough to protect civilians. Tens of thousands of villagers from the Menaka and...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Libya: After his forces suffered major losses, warlord Haftar wants a truce ($)
April 30, 2020 - Libya's UN-recognised government on Thursday rejected a truce unilaterally called the day before by military strongman Khalifa Haftar, saying it "did not trust" its eastern-based rival. The move follows successes on the ground for forces loyal to the...
Egypt: Insurgents strike in north Sinai, kill 10 Egyptian troops
Cairo, April 30, 2020 - Egypt's army said on Thursday that 10 soldiers were either killed or wounded in a blast targeting an armoured vehicle in the restive northern Sinai. The attack occurred south the city of Bir al-Abed in the troubled North Sinai region, the...
Week-in-review podcast: Lockdowns, curfews and government abuse
This is a retrospect on North Africa and the Sahel region, for the week ending 24 April. The review, which focuses on the latest on Covid-19 in the Maghreb, Egypt and the Sahel, is presented by MEA Risk analyst Arezki Daoud. The transcripted text is below. You can...
Sahel: Gunmen attack villages in Mali’s Mopti region, kill dozen civilians
Bamako, April 23, 2020 - At least twelve people have been killed in an attack on several villages in central Mali, a local official said Thursday, in the latest violence to hit the war-torn country. Gunmen on motorbikes struck several villages near the town of...
Sahel: After Chad captured 58 Boko Haram suspects, 44 die mysteriously
By Ali Abba Kaya, Djimet Wiche, and Camille Malplat in Libreville: The deaths by apparent poisoning of 44 suspected Boko Haram jihadists in a Chad prison were shrouded in mystery on Sunday, with observers wondering whether they were murdered or had committed...
Sahel: Extrajudicial killing of civilians in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso's security forces allegedly executed 31 unarmed detainees in the northern town of Djibo, Human Rights Watch said Monday, calling for an immediate investigation. The men, all from the Fulani ethnic group, were allegedly killed just hours after being...
Egypt: Insurgents strike in Cairo, killing one soldier and wounding others
Cairo, April 14, 2020 - An Egyptian policeman was killed and three others wounded in a shootout Tuesday with armed militants in Cairo, the interior ministry said in a statement. A "terrorist cell" was intending to attack Christians in southern and eastern Cairo during...
Libya: Warlord Khalifa Haftar unleashes terror on Tripoli population
Tripoli, April 14, 2020 - The forces of Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar rained rockets on the capital Tripoli early Tuesday after being ousted by government loyalists from a string of towns to its west. Salvo after salvo of rockets caused loud explosions...
Egypt: Policeman killed in shoot out with militants in Cairo
Cairo, April 14, 2020 - An Egyptian policeman was killed and another wounded in a shootout Tuesday with armed militants in Cairo, a security source said. "National security received a tip-off that there was an apartment full of terrorists... An exchange of gunfire...
Libya: Khalifa Haftar’s forces cut off water supply to Tripoli, millions of civilians at risk
Tripoli, April 11, 2020 - Water has been cut off to millions of Libyans living in and around the capital Tripoli, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the country said, condemning its use as a "weapon of war". "More than two million people, including 600,000 children,...