North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Burkina Faso Faces New Security Tensions Amid Coup Allegations
Burkina Faso saw a surge in political tension after warnings of a possible destabilization attempt triggered overnight mobilizations in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso. Security forces placed several military sites on alert as arrests were reported and social media claims pointed to internal and external actors. While the scale of the threat remains unclear, the episode reflects persistent instability under the country’s military transition and raises questions about internal cohesion, governance, and the long-term outlook for political order.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Sahel: Burkina Faso coup leader removed by another coup
By Olympia de Maismont with Pierre Donadieu in Abidjan: Security forces fired tear gas to disperse angry protesters outside the French embassy in Burkina Faso's capital on Sunday, as unrest simmered in the impoverished West African nation following a reported second...
Sahel: Regime in Chad abandons path to democracy, junta leader Deby seeks perpetual reign
Chad on Saturday extended the transition period to democratic elections and agreed junta leader Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno could run on the ballot, despite international opposition. The decisions were made by a national reconciliation dialogue forum, which has been...
Sahel: Uncertainty in Ouagadougou as Burkina Faso descends into chaos
By Olympia de Maismont with Pierre Donadieu in Abidjan: Shots rang out before dawn on Friday around Burkina Faso's presidential palace and headquarters of the military junta, which itself seized power in a coup last January, witnesses told AFP. The government said...
Tunisia: Hundreds of policemen protesting after colleagues were arrested for demanding right to unionize
More than 200 police officers protested in Tunisia's second city of Sfax on Wednesday to demand the release of eight arrested colleagues and defend their right to unionise, an AFP correspondent said. Responding to a call from the SNSI police union, the plainclothes...
Libya: Clashes reignite in coastal town of Zawyah among militias supporting rival governments
Five people were killed and 13 wounded in gun battles in the western Libyan town of Zawiyah, the latest unrest in the troubled North African nation, medics said Monday. Fighting late Sunday broke out between rival forces equipped with heavy weapons, with one group...
Moroccan man who fought against Russia expresses sympathy with Ukrainian people
A Moroccan prisoner of war released as part of an exchange between Moscow and Kyiv said he wanted to draw attention to the "struggle" of Ukraine as he returned home Saturday. "I'm happy to come home after going through very difficult times," said Brahim Saadoun, 21,...
Sahel: Growing pressure on Mali to release detained soldiers from Ivory Coast
The United Nations on Monday urged Mali to free 46 detained Ivorian soldiers, after the junta in Bamako attacked UN chief Antonio Guterres over his comments on the two-month standoff. The UN secretariat in a statement voiced "grave concern" and said it "calls for the...
Libya: Continued foreign meddling in a dangerously divided Libya ($)
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Insurgencies: Boko Haram fighters pouring into Niger’s side of Lake Chad
Hundreds of Boko Haram jihadists have fled a forest enclave in northeast Nigeria, escaping air strikes by the military and floods from torrential rains to seek shelter on Niger's side of Lake Chad, sources told AFP. Northeast Nigeria is facing a 13-year armed...
Sahel: Jihadists ambush patrol in Oursi, Burkina Faso, kill eight troops
An attack on a military unit in Burkina Faso's jihadist-hit north has killed eight soldiers, the army said Wednesday. The unit "was ambushed" 11 kilometres (seven miles) from Oursi in Oudalan province in the Sahel region on Tuesday, the army said in a statement. "In...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Egypt: Dozens sentenced to death in Egypt over terror attacks
Cairo, March 2, 2020 - (photo of Hisham Ashmawy) An Egyptian court Monday sentenced to death an ex-special forces officer turned Islamist militant and 36 other jihadists over several terror attacks, including an assassination bid on a former interior minister. The...
Sahel: Mali soldiers killed by rocket attack in Mondoro
Bamako, March 2, 2020 - Six Malian soldiers died and 10 were injured when militants armed with rocket launchers attacked a checkpoint in a central region of the conflict-torn nation, the army and a local official said Monday. The attack on Sunday night at Mondoro...
Libya: Protagonists have no appetite for talk
Geneva, Feb 26, 2020 - UN-hosted talks between the warring sides in Libya that were supposed to start on Wednesday were clouded in uncertainty after participants said they were staying away. The talks are meant to be between representatives of the UN-recognised...
Sahel: The African Union to the rescue
Addis Ababa, Feb 27, 2020 - The African Union confirmed Thursday that it expected to send a temporary deployment of 3,000 troops to West Africa's Sahel region, where regional forces are struggling to respond to a nearly eight-year-old onslaught by armed Islamists. The...
Sahel: With insurgents several steps ahead, Sahel leaders are disoriented
Nouakchott, Feb 25, 2020 - A summit of Sahel states heard appeals Tuesday to step up the fight against jihadists whose offensive across three countries has claimed thousands of lives and inflicted crippling economic damage. "More than ever, the Sahel requires...
Sahel: French army says it killed some 50 insurgents in Mali’s Mopti region
Paris, Feb 21, 2020 - French soldiers "neutralised" around 50 in a series of operations in Mali this month, the army said Friday as it seeks to quell a years-long insurgency in the West African nation. The operations were carried out near Mopti in central Mali, where...
Sahel: Malian troops re-enter Timbuktu
Bamako, Feb 18, 2020 - A Malian army battalion comprising regulars and former rebels has entered the northern city of Timbuktu, the army said Tuesday, as part of a long-anticipated peace deal in the war-torn country. The move follows the return last week of similar...
Sahel: Insurgents attack church in Burkina Faso, 24 killed
Ouagadougou, Feb 17, 2020 - Gunmen have killed 24 people and wounded 18 in an attack on a Protestant church in a village in northern Burkina Faso, officials said Monday. In a separate incident, five Burkinabe soldiers in the troubled region were killed by a roadside,...
Sahel: Turmoil in central Mali
Bamako, Feb 14, 2020 - Twenty people were killed in an attack overnight on a village in central Mali, local officials said Friday, in an apparent spate of ethnic violence in the deeply troubled region. The attack occurred in Ogossagou, a village mainly inhabited by...
Sahel: Second deadly attack on a Fulani village in Mali’s Mopti region
Bamako, Feb 14, 2020 (By Kassim Traore) - Twenty people were killed in an attack overnight on a village in central Mali, local officials said Friday, in an apparent spate of ethnic violence in the deeply troubled region. The attack occurred in Ogossagou, a village...