North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Mali: Bamako Strikes Back as JNIM Expands Its Rule
Mali’s military launched air raids in Ségou just days after jihadists announced new sharia‑based restrictions and widened their blockade. The standoff now defines who controls the roads, fuel, and daily life in central Mali.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Libya: Apparent calm hides potential for more violence
There is potential for new violence in Libya, a United Nations official said Tuesday, as the country faces delays in moving toward elections. Rosemary DiCarlo, under-secretary-general for political and peacekeeping affairs, told the Security Council she was worried...
Sahel: Intense violence in Mali sends thousands fleeing
Tens of thousands of people, many of them children, have fled to a town in northeastern Mali after fighting erupted in the jihadist-torn region, a local official said Wednesday. Since March, more than 65,000 people have arrived in the town of Menaka near the border...
Sahel: UN reports killing of civilians in a Mali army attack involving foreign troops
At least 50 civilians were killed and hundreds arrested in central Mali in April during an operation by the army and "foreign" personnel, the UN's peacekeeping mission said Wednesday. There was no immediate response from Mali's authorities to the allegations, just...
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...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Sahel: France sends 600 more soldiers to Mali
Paris, Feb 2, 2020 - France said Sunday it was boosting its military presence in the Sahel by adding a further 600 troops to its 4,500-strong operation in Mali and four other countries in the region. Defence Minister Florence Parly said in a statement that the bulk of...
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...