North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Algeria Plans Major Military Budget Increase for 2026
Algeria’s government is set to boost its military budget to historic levels in 2026, with over $24 billion earmarked for defense spending. This unprecedented increase, outlined in the country’s draft finance law, reflects Algeria’s aim to reinforce security amid regional instability and border threats. The new funding will prioritize modernizing military equipment and strengthening operational readiness, underscoring the military’s central role in national policy.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Libya: Militia ends siege of oil fields, production in Al-Sharara field resumes
Libya's National Oil Corporation said Tuesday that an armed group blockading two major oil fields had lifted its siege and that production had resumed at one of them. The NOC had announced the suspension of production on Sunday at the vast Al-Sharara and Al-Fil...
Chad: Five soldiers killed in Lake Chad region
Five Chadian soldiers have been killed by jihadists in the Lake Chad region, a vast marshland that has become a bolthole for Islamist rebels, President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said on Wednesday. "This latest loss, which can be ascribed to a terrorist ambush by the...
Mali: Violent clash rocks Timbuktu with many casualties
The Malian army said it had killed 19 jihadists in operations northeast of the capital Bamako that were supported by European special forces. A statement by the armed forces chief of staff late Tuesday said operations in the Timbuktu, Segou, Mopti and Bandiagara...
Tensions between Algeria and Morocco persist as Rabat calls border areas military zone
Morocco has established a new military zone bordering Algeria, a Moroccan military publication said Monday, amid mounting tensions between the two North African countries. The establishment of the new zone redefines Morocco's military borders, introducing a new...
Sahel: Senegalese President begs Germany to not abandon Mali
Senegalese President Macky Sall on Monday urged Germany to keep its troops in Mali, amid uncertainty over their future in the fragile Sahel country after France announced a military withdrawal. The call came at a news conference in Senegal's capital Dakar with German...
Sahel: The Burkina Faso coup: Not so bloodless after all
Two civilians were killed and a dozen injured in last month's coup in Burkina Faso, an event that had previously been hailed as bloodless, the authorities said on Monday, adding that junta leader and interim president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba had ordered an...
Sahel: 18 civilians killed in Jihadist attack in west Niger
Eighteen civilians have been killed in two suspected jihadist attacks in the west of Niger near the Sahel nation's border with Mali, the government said Tuesday. The attack happened on Sunday when unidentified "armed bandits" on motorbikes attacked a truck travelling...
Egypt and France in joint naval exercises
Egypt has kicked off joint air and naval drills with France, one of its biggest arms suppliers, in the Mediterranean, the Egyptian army said Monday. "Egypt and France are carrying out the 'Ramses 2022' naval and air exercises in the Mediterranean... which will last...
Sahel: Fake news flooding troubled region
By Amaury Hauchard, with Boureima Hama in Niamey Fake news is flooding Africa's conflict-ridden Sahel, according to experts, sowing discord and confusion in the increasingly volatile region. Doctored news bulletins and altered photos often spread like wildfire on...
Sahel: Concern over Russian mercenaries’ entry into Chad
Chad's ruling military junta on Wednesday accused a rebel leader of seeking the help of Russian mercenaries to derail a reconciliation process and topple those in power. Timan Erdimi, who heads the powerful Union of Resistance Forces (UFR), solicited the help of...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Sahel: Boko Haram raids village in western Chad, kills scores
Fourteen people were killed and 13 were missing after Boko Haram jihadists attacked a fishing village in western Chad on Tuesday, government officials said. "There were 14 dead, five wounded and 13 missing in the attack" near the village of Kaiga on the shores of...
Africa: Herdsmen-Boko Haram clash in Nigeria, scores dead
Boko Haram jihadists gunned down 19 cattle herders Saturday in northeast Nigeria, civilian militia sources and residents told AFP on Sunday. Ethnic Fulani herders, besieged by a spate of armed attacks targeting their cattle, pursued Boko Haram, sparking a fierce...
Morocco arrests suspected insurgent
Moroccan anti-terror police announced Sunday the arrest of an alleged jihadist who "planned a suicide attack". The 41-year-old extremist tried to "build expertise in the use of arms", Morocco's central office for judicial investigations said in a statement. He was...
Libya: Warlord Khalifa Haftar promises onslaught on Tripoli
Tripoli, Dec 12, 2019 - Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar announced a "decisive battle" for the capital Tripoli on Thursday, eight months after he launched an offensive to wrest it from the unity government. "Zero hour has come for the broad and total assault...
Sahel: Insurgents raid army camp in Tahoua, Niger, 17 casualties
Niamey, Dec 11, 2019 - Three soldiers and 14 attackers died in an assault earlier this week on an army camp in western Niger near the border with Mali, the defence minister said. Heavily armed "terrorists" in a dozen 4x4 vehicles led the attack early Monday morning on...
Libya: Civilians killed in air strikes on Tripoli, authorities say UAE drones used
Tripoli, Dec 2, 2019 - At least five civilians were killed and 10 wounded in overnight air strikes in a suburb of Libya's capital, the unity government's health ministry said on Monday. "Violent air raids on the residential area of al-Swani killed five civilians and...
Chad: Boko Haram raids military outpost, 13 fighters and four Chadian troops killed
Sahel: Islamic State claims responsibility in death of French troops in Mali
Paris, Nov 29, 2019 - An ambush by Islamic State jihadists did not cause a collision between two French army helicopters which left 13 soldiers dead in Mali, France's military chief of staff said Friday. The Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed...
Libya: Work at Al-Feel oil field in southwest Libya halts amid fighting
Tripoli, Nov 27, 2019 - Libya's National Oil Corporation said fighting triggered a suspension of production Wednesday at a key field in the country's southwest. Forces loyal to eastern Libya strongman Khalifa Haftar said they carried out air raids against "armed...
Sahel: French soldiers killed in Mali in helicopters’ collision during sweeping operation
Paris, Nov 26, 2019 (By Daphne Benoit and Jérôme Rivet) - Thirteen French soldiers were killed in Mali when two helicopters collided while fighting insurgents in the country's restive north, officials said Tuesday, the heaviest single loss for the French military in...