North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Sahel: France Concludes Military Presence in Chad
France has officially ended its military presence in Chad, returning the Kossei base to the Chadian government. This marks the end of a long-standing French military footprint in the Sahel after similar exits from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
US-Niger relations face uncertainty, with Niamey’s pivot to Russia
Audio version: The news: The visit a few days ago of a US government delegation to Niamey, the capital of Niger, did not go down well with the ruling junta there. Clearly as the junta is paving the way for the Russian military to enter Niger and expand their presence...
Bloody Sunday: The indiscriminate killing of Muslim and Catholic worshipers in Burkina Faso
Sunday, 25 February was a bloody day for religious groups in Burkina Faso. Two attacks against a church and a mosque confirm the utter instability of the northern and eastern regions of the country. In Essakane-village, in the northeastern Burkina Faso, a terrorist...
War in Gaza forces former Middle East foes to seek reconciliation
By Mondafrique: The war in Gaza is forcing feuding States in the Middle East and in the Gulf to seek the path of reconciliations. Faced with President Biden’s inability to impose a red line on Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the four most influential...
Western Sahara: Escalating Tensions Between Morocco and the SPLA
The North Africa Journal: With global attention focused on the Middle East and the Ukrainian crises, the Western Sahara feud has been evolving from a low-intensity conflict to a one with more frequent incidents, risking to shift into a higher-intensity crisis if the...
Russia’s first African military base in a highly unstable nation
By Arezki Daoud: Since Russia started its war on Ukraine, we have been told that Moscow was headed towards disaster. Echoing the views of Western governments, think-tanks and their analysts, many media outlets told us that Russia will not have the stamina to withstand...
Mali junta ends Algiers Agreement
The ruling junta in Mali announced, on Thursday 25 January, the "end, with immediate effect", of the Algiers agreement signed in 2015 with the pro-autonomy and independence groups based in the north of the country. Long considered essential for stabilizing the...
22 Islamist militant suspects arrested in Tunisia ($)
Defense: Morocco orders armored vehicles from Turkey ($)
Russia-Africa: From weapon sales to economic ties
By Arezki Daoud: Has the war in Ukraine deter Russia from engagement in Africa? Certainly not! We know on the security front, a growing number of African states are turning to Russia to supply them with military equipment and security services, judging by the...
Sahel: Russia to experience boost of its influence in the Sahel
By Arezki Daoud: Russia’s influence in the Sahel is about to expand further with more cooperation deals announced by Niger and Russia during the ongoing visit to Moscow of Niger’s Prime Minister and other senior officials. Speaking to Russian media, Niger’s Defense...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Mali: Civilians killed by terrorists in Gabero region
At least 13 civilians have been killed by suspected jihadists in chronically unstable northern Mali, elected officials who requested anonymity said on Wednesday. "The provisional toll is now 13 dead, a dozen wounded and hundreds of people fleeing several villages in...
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...
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,...
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,...
Burkina Faso: Twenty civilians killed in two terror attacks in Koulpelogo
Around 20 people in east-central Burkina Faso have been killed in attacks by suspected jihadists, sources said on Friday. Armed men on Monday raided the village of Kaongo in the border province of Koulpelogo, killing at least 11 people including two women and...
Algeria says army officer killed in clash with Islamists
An Algerian army officer has been killed in a clash with suspected Islamists during an operation southwest of the capital, the defence ministry said on Thursday. The captain died Wednesday during the operation to capture "a group of terrorists" in the wooded region of...