North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Algeria and Tunisia Expand Military Cooperation Amid Regional Security Tensions
Algeria and Tunisia signed a renewed defense cooperation agreement in Algiers on October 7, 2025, expanding their 2001 framework to include joint training, border operations, and intelligence exchange. The pact, confirmed by both defense ministries aims to strengthen coordination against terrorism, trafficking, and irregular migration along their shared frontier.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Sahel security: France’s military presence in Mali
French troops gained an enthusiastic welcome when they entered Mali more than nine years ago to help it fight a jihadist-fuelled insurgency. On Monday, France pulled out of the country in the face of deep hostility after falling out with colonels who seized power...
Sahel: Understanding the Mali crisis
On August 18 2020, crowds in the Malian capital Bamako applauded as young colonels toppled a civilian government struggling to roll back a bloody jihadist insurgency. Today, the looming anniversary of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's ouster sees a country mired in...
Sahel: Militants kill more soldiers and civilians in Mali
Forty-two Malian soldiers died in an attack at the weekend by suspected jihadists, the army said Wednesday in a document naming the fatalities, revising an earlier figure of 21 dead. The toll is one of the bloodiest in Mali's decade-long insurgency, which has spread...
Libya: Dozens of suspects go on trial for alleged membership to IS
The trial opened Monday in Libya's western city of Misrata of 56 suspected Islamic State group militants captured after the 2016 fall of its bastion Sirte. The 56 suspects, out of a total of 320 facing trial, appeared in court before the trial was adjourned to...
Sahel: Suspected jihadists kill 4 Mali soldiers, 2 civilians in Tessit
At least four soldiers, two civilians and five assailants were killed on Sunday in an attack in a strategic border zone between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, Mali's army said. The army blamed the attack on "terrorists" in an announcement late Sunday, using the term it...
Sahelian country of Chad looking for path to peace
By Tim Witcher and Dylan Gamba in Libreville Chad's military government and more than 40 opposition groups signed a deal Monday to launch national peace talks this month, but the main rebel outfit refused to take part. United Nations and African Union leaders urged...
Sudan condemns Chadian group’s killing of 18
Sudan's foreign ministry on Saturday condemned the killing of 18 Sudanese people during an attack by an armed group from Chad, state media reported. The killings took place Thursday when Sudanese herders from West Darfur state were ambushed while following the trails...
Sahel: Bomb attack in Ouakan, central Mali kills civilians
At least 12 civilians have been killed in Mali by suspected jihadists who lured victims into a bomb attack, two elected officials and a police source told AFP on Saturday. "The jihadists first killed two civilians in Ouakan (a town near Bankass in central Mali) before...
Libya: Fighting between rival militias rocks El Jebs, south of Tripoli
Clashes between armed groups erupted overnight in Tripoli, according to local media reports, the latest violence to hit the Libyan capital. An AFP journalist heard gunfire and explosions around 1:00 am Saturday (2300 GMT) in the city. The fighting, with light and...
Libya: United Nations to broker new talks between rivals in Libya
The United Nations said Thursday it will broker new talks between rival institutions from war-torn Libya next week to try to break a deadlock on the rules for long-awaited elections. "(Parliament speaker) Aguila Saleh and President of the High Council of State Khaled...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Libya: Crude production collapses as warlord Haftar maintains blockade of oil sites
Tripoli, Jan 25, 2020 - Libya's oil production has plunged by around three-quarters since forces loyal to military strongman Khalifa Haftar launched a blockade a week ago, the National Oil Company announced Saturday. The fall, from 1.2 million barrels a day to just...
Libya: the collapsing public health system in Tripoli
Tripoli, Jan 22, 2020 - By Jihad Dhorgham: "The pressure was unbearable," said doctor Mohamad al-Rajehi, recalling a night early this month when an air strike on a military school completely overwhelmed his public hospital in Libya's capital. Al-Khadra, one of the...
Sahel: France takes more steps toward conflict escalation in the Sahel
Opinion by Arezki Daoud: (you can also listen the opinion by clicking on the audio player above) | France's hawks, those who like to project the image of a superpower, are hoping for some miracle tipping point to take place in the Sahel. Their latest idea is to...
Sahel: IED kills two soldiers in Mopti, Mali
Bamako, Jan 22, 2020 - Two Malian soldiers were killed and two were wounded by a roadside bomb, an army spokesman said Wednesday, in the latest violence to hit volatile central Mali. The soldiers were travelling to the town of Douentza, in the central region of...
Libya: Tripoli’s sole functioning airport, Mitiga, shuts down after Haftar launches rocket attack
Tripoli, Jan 22, 2020 - Rocket fire forced the suspension of all flights into and out of Tripoli's sole functioning airport on Wednesday, only nine days after it reopened following a truce, Libya's embattled UN-recognised government said. Mitiga airport had reopened...
Sahel: Insurgents raid villages in north Burkina Faso
Ouagadougou, Jan 21, 2020 - Militants killed 36 civilians when they attacked villages in northern Burkina Faso, the government said Tuesday, appealing for local volunteers to bolster its fight against jihadists. A "terrorist group" killed 32 civilians when they...
Libya: Despite calls for ceasefire, Haftar continues to attack Tripoli
There is little to no hope that warlord Khalifa Haftar and his supporters will listen to calls for reason and endorse a ceasefire. The UN Security Council called Tuesday on the warring parties in Libya to quickly reach a ceasefire. AFP quotes the security council as...
Tunisia: Military arrests wanted female terrorist in Bouhajila
Libya/Tunisia: Syrian fighters seize facility of Chinese industrial company near Tunisia borders
Sahel: Somber assessment about Burkina Faso’s stability, say MEA Risk LLC
Advisory firm MEA Risk LLC released a brief to its client suggesting that the instability in Burkina Faso and neighboring countries will likely escalate going forward. The audio portion of the brief is posted above. The MEA Risk note says Burkina Faso is a complex...