North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Washington Returns to Libya’s Frontlines in Bid to Counter Russia and Reunify Militias
The United States is reengaging in Libya through Flintlock 2026, a major U.S. Africa Command exercise set for next spring near Sirte. The training will bring together Libya’s rival eastern and western forces for the first time since 2011, signaling a renewed American role in efforts to unify the country’s military, counter extremist threats, and curb Russian influence in North Africa.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Sahel: Burkina Faso military launches counterinsurgency operations in the north
A soldier has been killed and at least 28 "terrorists neutralised" in two military operations in the north and east of Burkina Faso, the army said Monday. The landlocked Sahel state is in the grip of a seven-year-old insurgency that has claimed more than 2,000 lives...
Libya: Dozens killed in militia clashes in Tripoli
By Hamza Mekouar Flights resumed and shops re-opened in Libya's capital Tripoli on Sunday after clashes between backers of rival governments killed at least 32 people and sparked fears of major new conflict. Armed groups had exchanged fire that damaged several...
Sahel: Togo confronted with Jihadi movement from the Sahel
Togo's armed forces said Tuesday they had repelled a "terrorist" attack that injured "several" soldiers in the far northern village of Blamonga on the border with Burkina Faso. The attack, which took place on Monday, was the fifth in the country since last year, as...
Libya in turmoil again as tensions escalate
The United Nations on Tuesday voiced "deep concern" over growing tensions between rival Libyan forces, calling for "immediate" moves to calm the situation. The UN's mission UNSMIL said it was "following with deep concern the ongoing mobilisation of forces and threats...
Burkina Faso: Ethnic Fulanis fear violence will escalate against them
By Armel Baily Jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso have inflamed accusations against the Fulani community, sparking warnings the troubled country may spiral into ethnic conflict -- even civil war. The impoverished Sahel state is battling a seven-year-old jihadist...
Sahel: Crisis in Mali enters Senegal’s presidential politics
Senegal's army says it is standing by the country's commitments to the UN's peacekeeping mission in neighbouring Mali, after an opposition leader suggested it was withdrawing. The West African state is one of the biggest contributors to the MINUSMA force in Mali,...
Sahel: Germany says Russian troops may be present in Mali
German soldiers in Mali spotted several dozen suspected Russian security forces in the city of Gao just as the last French soldiers left the country, the German government said Wednesday. The German ambassador in Bamako has contacted Mali's foreign minister about "the...
Sahel: Mali-France relations worsen as Bamako accuses Paris of “aggression and espionage”
Mali has requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting to stop what it calls French "acts of aggression", including alleged espionage and violations of sovereignty, and accused France of supporting jihadists. In a letter seen Wednesday by AFP, Foreign Minister...
Sahel: Germany halts military operations in Mali after Bamako denies UN flyover
The German defence ministry said Friday it had suspended most of its operations in Mali after the local military-led government denied flyover rights to a UN peacekeeping mission. "The Malian government has once again refused to give flyover rights to a flight planned...
Sahel: France wraps up military withdrawal from Mali
By Selim Saheb Ettaba and Joris Fioriti The last soldiers belonging to France's Barkhane operation in Mali have now left the African country, the French chiefs of staff said on Monday. French forces have been supporting Mali against insurgents for nearly a decade,...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Sahel: Village in Burkina Faso’s Sahel region attacked, 18 killed
Ouagadougou, Feb 3, 2020 - Suspected jihadists have killed 18 civilians in an attack in northern Burkina Faso, the governor of Sahel region said. "The defence and security forces brought back the body of the nurse to give it to her family in Yalgo and secure the area...
Egypt: Islamic State claims attack on pipeline in Sinai
Cairo, Feb 3, 2020 - The Islamic State group said on Monday it blew up a gas pipeline in Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula, claiming it was connected to Israel. Security sources earlier said the pipeline hit was a domestic one that connects to a power station in...
Chad: Twenty-five killed in Boko Haram attack in Lake Chad
Analysis: Northern half of Africa bracing for upheaval this year
MEA Risk LLC - 29 January 2020: There has been a dangerous escalation of security risks and instability in the Maghreb and Sahel region since the start of 2020. War looks set to intensify in countries like Libya, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali and others in the...
How UAE security firm deceives jobless Sudanese and sends them to fight in Libya
Khartoum, Jan 28, 2020 - Dozens of Sudanese protested Tuesday in Khartoum, alleging that their relatives had been recruited by a UAE firm as security guards but were dispatched to war-zones in Libya and Yemen. Men and women carrying banners that read "Our sons are nor...
Sahel: Destabilization of Burkina Faso underway
Ouagadougou, Jan 28, 2020 (By Armel Baily) - Six soldiers were killed and several went missing Tuesday after a suspected jihadist attack in troubled Burkina Faso, following a weekend massacre which could have claimed up to 50 lives, security and local sources told...
Sahel: JNIM attacks Mali outpost near Mauritania, kills 20 troops
Sahel: Insurgents raid Silgadji village in Burkina Faso, kill at least ten
Sahel: Concern in France as US military prepares to reduce its presence in the Sahel
Washington, Jan 27, 2020 - French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly warned Monday that expected cuts to the Pentagon's African operations would hamper efforts against jihadist groups, especially in the Sahel region. But US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper made clear...
US court sentences Libyan to 19 years in jail for Benghazi attack
Washington, Jan 24, 2020 - A 47-year-old Libyan man who was captured by US special forces in Libya and brought to the United States for trial was sentenced to prison on Thursday for his role in the 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi. Mustafa al-Imam, who was...