North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Nigeria Adjusts Airstrike Strategy Under Expanded U.S. Security Cooperation
Nigeria is modifying how it conducts air operations against armed groups under a revised security arrangement with the United States. The new framework places greater emphasis on U.S. intelligence and reconnaissance support while shifting operational responsibility to Nigerian forces. The approach reflects Abuja’s effort to balance external assistance with domestic control amid ongoing security challenges in the country’s northwest.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
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...
Sahel: Germany suspends reconnaissance patrols in Mali due to inability to get flyover right
Germany has again suspended its reconnaissance patrols in eastern Mali that are part of a UN peacekeeping mission after failing to get flyover rights, the military said Monday. The permission is needed for flights between Gao, home to the German military's main base...
Sahel: Senior Mali army officer admits defeat, calls for evacuation of part of the north
A well-known Malian commander has urged civilians to flee part of a northern region recently attacked by Islamic State jihadists, in a rare admission of the security problems facing locals. "There are no armed forces or any entity to guarantee the security of the...
Libya: Elusive US engagement in Libya
By Hamza Mrkouar Ten years after the US ambassador to Libya was killed in the eastern city of Benghazi, the country remains in turmoil and Washington is vying for influence with other foreign powers. Islamist militants armed with automatic weapons and grenades...
Mali: In the absence of institutional security in Kidal, the Tuaregs are in charge
On a sandy street in a northern Malian town, armed guards take turns at a checkpoint next to two unmarked pickup trucks as dusk falls and the sky slowly fills with stars. The men are not army troops but fighters from the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) -- a...
Sahel: Burkina Faso defense chief fired as the destabilization of Burkina Faso continues
Burkina Faso junta chief Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who took power in a January coup, has sacked his defence minister and assumed the role himself after a series of jihadist attacks, according to decrees published Monday. The first decree, read on...
Sahel: Attack on army unit in Deou, Burkina Faso claims two troops and Jihadists
Two soldiers died and a dozen "terrorists" were killed on Monday during an attack against a military detachment in Burkina Faso's jihadist-hit north, the army said. The landlocked African state is in the grip of a seven-year-old insurgency that has claimed more than...
Sahel: Three UN peacekeepers hurt in blast near Timbuktu, Mali
Three United Nations peacekeepers were hurt Sunday when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device (IED) in northern Mali, the UN mission said on Twitter. The incident happened on a road between Ber and Timbuktu, MINUSMA said late Sunday, without identifying...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
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...
West Africa facing Jihadist contagion from the Sahel
Cotonou, Feb 14, 2020 (By Josue Mehouenou with Sophie Bouillon in Lagos) - An attack on police in the far north of Benin has spurred fears that a country struggling with political problems is now at threat from jihadism sweeping down from the Sahel. The authorities...
Libya: Despite UN call for lasting ceasefire, warlord Harftar continues to wage war in Tripoli
Tripoli, Feb 13, 2020 - Rival forces clashed in the Libyan capital Thursday, witnesses and pro-Government of National Accord (GNA) forces said, a day after a UN Security Council resolution called for a "lasting ceasefire". Flights were again suspended at Mitiga,...
Sahel: With failure of foreign forces in Mali, president forced to seek negotiations with insurgents
Bamako, Mali, Feb 11, 2020 (By Amaury Hauchard) - Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has opened the door to talks with jihadists to defuse mounting violence in the West African country, in a break with long-held tradition. Despite the presence of foreign troops,...
Libya: Unusual consensus in the UN Security Council, but no solution in sight
United Nations, United States, Feb 13, 2020 - The UN Security Council on Wednesday adopted a resolution calling for a "lasting ceasefire" in war-torn Libya, where a fragile truce has been in place since January. The text, drafted by Britain, was approved by 14 votes...
Egypt: More violence in north Sinai
Feb 11, 2020 - Egyptian police have killed 17 militants in a shootout in the restive northern Sinai, the interior ministry said Tuesday. Security forces are battling a long-running insurgency in the peninsula, spearheaded by the Islamic State group.The shootout flared...
Libya: Haftar’s forces obstruct humanitarian flights into Libya
Tripoli, Feb 12, 2020 - The United Nations condemned Wednesday the obstruction of its flights into conflict-hit Libya by forces loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar, warning of "severe consequences" to its humanitarian efforts. The UN "regrets that its regular flights,...
Egypt: Scores killed during insurgent attempt to raid military site in Sinai
Cairo, Feb 9, 2020 - Militants killed and wounded seven Egyptian soldiers in restive North Sinai on Sunday, Egypt's military said. The army said it "foiled" an attack on security facilities, "killing 10 terrorists and destroying a four-wheel drive used by the...
Libya: African Union gets in the game after complaining of isolation
Addis Ababa, Feb 10, 2020 - The African Union vowed Monday to boost efforts to end the crisis in Libya and support a faltering UN-led peace process, the AU's Peace and Security Council chief said. "It's (the) UN itself which needs us now," Smail Chergui told...