North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Egypt Moves to Shore Up Somalia as Regional Alignments Shift in the Horn of Africa
Egypt has expanded the scope of its military and security engagement in Somalia following Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, a self-declared breakaway region on the Gulf of Aden. Egyptian officials view the move as part of a broader shift in Horn of Africa geopolitics that could affect Red Sea security, Nile water negotiations, and regional power balances.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Egypt: IS claims attack in Ismailia that killed three policemen
The Islamic State group said Saturday that it carried out a deadly attack on an Egyptian police checkpoint in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia the previous day. "A cell of soldiers of the caliphate managed to attack an Egyptian police roadblock... with a machine gun,"...
Sahel: Ivory Coast hands down four life terms to 4 Mali nationals for 2016 jihadist attack
A court in Ivory Coast on Wednesday handed down life terms to four Malian men convicted of abetting a jihadist attack on a beach resort that left 19 people dead. The court in Abidjan, the country's commercial hub, found the four "guilty of the deeds for which they...
Egypt: Three policemen killed, others wounded in attack in Suez Canal city
Three Egyptian policemen were killed and four others, including a police officer, wounded Friday in an attack in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, security and medical sources said. Two cars approached a checkpoint in a residential neighbourhood of the city and two...
Sahel: 46 Ivory Coast soldiers detained by Mali get 20 years in prison, setting stage for regional diplomatic crisis
Update: Mali court sentences 46 Ivorian soldiers to 20 years in prison: prosecutor Forty-six Ivorian troops whose detention in Mali sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries have been sentenced to 20 years in prison, the public prosecutor said Friday. Three...
Sahel: Clash at Niger-Nigeria border leaves five Boko Haram fighters dead
Five Boko Haram jihadist fighters have been killed and two Niger soldiers wounded in clashes in southeast Niger near the Nigerian border, local authorities said Friday. The military clashed with the jihadist fighters in the towns of Bague and Tchoungoua in the Diffa...
Libya: Treating each other as enemies, Libyan leaders carry out prisoner swap
Libya's unity government has carried out a prisoner exchange with rival eastern forces, releasing a pilot captured during strongman Khalifa Haftar's 2019 assault on Tripoli, local media reported Monday. According to the reports and images on social media, pilot Amer...
Gambia, another West African nation, headed toward turmoil
The Gambia's government on Wednesday said it had thwarted a coup attempt the previous day and arrested four soldiers. "The situation is under total control," it added. There was no immediate confirmation of the purported plot from other sources. Scattered witness...
Sahel: Worker of Doctors without Borders (MSF) kidnapped in north Mali
A worker with the French-based medical charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) has been kidnapped in jihadist-torn northern Mali, police and a local official said on Tuesday. The individual was seized by armed men early Monday in Gao, the region's biggest town, a police...
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...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Sahel: Boko Haram attacks Diffa in Niger
Niamey, May 5, 2020 - Boko Haram fighters clashed with government forces on Sunday in Diffa, the largest city in southwestern Niger, in what the jihadists said was a successful attack on a military camp. Conflicting versions of the outcome emerged on Tuesday, with the...
Tunisia: Partial easing of lockdown measures revealed
Tunis, April 29, 2020 - Tunisian officials on Wednesday announced a partial easing of lockdown measures in place to curb the spread of novel coronavirus, although schools will largely remain closed until September. Education Minister Mohamed Hamdi, Health Minister...
Sahel: Mali and Niger troops accused of extra-judicial killings
Bamako, April 30, 2020 - The UN mission in Mali on Thursday blamed Malian and Niger troops for scores of extra-judicial killings between January and March. According to a quarterly MINUSMA report, Malian forces carried out 101 executions and Niger forces 34 more...
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...