North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Niger Moves Uranium From SOMAÏR Mine Despite Arbitration Ruling
Niger’s military authorities have authorized the removal and transport of uranium from the SOMAÏR mine at Arlit without the involvement of longtime operator Orano, prompting the French nuclear group to denounce the shipment as illegal and in breach of a September 2025 World Bank–linked arbitration ruling. While Niamey signals plans to sell the stock on the open market as an assertion of resource sovereignty, the move raises legal, safety, and security concerns as uranium travels by road through conflict‑affected Sahel corridors.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
US-Russia competition expands to Mali and the Sahel
The top US military commander for Africa on Thursday suggested that impoverished and jihadist-hit Mali was paying Russian private military company Wagner $10 million a month. France, Mali's former colonial ruler, has accused Wagner's mercenaries of "supporting" Mali's...
Sahel: Regime in Mali initiates talks with former rebels without France’s blessing
Former Malian rebels have signed a pact designed to "facilitate ties" with the Sahel state's ruling junta, a spokesman for the armed groups said on Thursday. The ex-rebels, who range from former Tuareg separatists to Arab nationalists, had already signed a peace...
Conflicts: How the UAE pays mercenaries in Darfur to wage war in Libya in support of Khalifa Haftar
Providing mercenaries in Libya's internal conflict has become the main source of revenue for armed groups from Sudan's own war-torn Darfur region, the United Nations said in a report Friday. The report, drawn up by UN experts in charge of monitoring the arms embargo...
Sahel: Burkina junta lifts nationwide curfew
Burkina Faso's junta lifted Wednesday a nationwide curfew they imposed after seizing power in a coup last month, the military announced. The restrictions were imposed on January 24 after mutinous soldiers arrested President Roch Marc Christian Kabore following a...
Security: Egypt ups its military hardware with US and South Korean purchase spree
Egypt has signed a $1.66 billion deal for South Korean howitzers, the military said Wednesday, a week after Washington approved a major arms sale to Cairo. The memorandum of understanding was signed on Tuesday during a ceremony attended by Defence Minister Mohamed...
Security: Germany calls for reevaluating Europe’s operations in Mali
European nations must re-evaluate their anti-jihadist duties in Mali in light of growing tensions with the ruling junta, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Wednesday. As several European countries raised doubts about the future of the mission, Baerbock...
Security/Sahel: Joint Burkina Faso/Niger counter-insurgency operation claims neutralizing dozens of jihadists
The armies of Burkina Faso and neighbouring Niger said Thursday they had killed around 100 "terrorists" in a joint military operation against jihadists on the border between November 25 and December 9. The operation managed to "neutralise around 100 terrorists" and...
Sahel: Cameroon refugees pour into Chad in unfolding violence over water
Footage from the conflict zone By Djimet Wiche More than 30,000 people in northern Cameroon have fled to Chad after ethnic clashes erupted at the weekend, claiming at least 22 lives, the UN's refugee agency said on Friday. Violence broke out in the border village of...
Sahel: Niger president says weapons from Libya fuel violence in Sahel
Niger President Mohamed Bazoum on Monday urged his country's allies to step up the fight against arms trafficking from Libya, which he said is fuelling the Sahel's jihadist insurgency. "The partners' biggest failure has been their weak involvement in the fight against...
Sahel: Gunmen kill seven former rebels in northern Mali
Seven former rebels were killed in northern Mali overnight, a spokesman of the group, the Coordination of Movements of Azawad (CMA), said Monday. The alliance made up mainly of separatist Tuaregs and nationalist Arabs signed an accord with the national government in...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Tunisia: Army kills suspected militant in Kasserine
Tunis, Oct 20, 2019 - An Al-Qaeda leader was killed and another wounded during an anti-terror raid in Tunisia on Sunday, according to the country's defence ministry. Tunisian armed forces and national guardsmen led the operation against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb...
Libya: Warlord Haftar’s warplanes kill at least three children near Tripoli
Tripoli, Oct 14, 2019 - At least three children were killed and eight civilians wounded Monday in an air strike on a residential neighbourhood near the Libyan capital, the health ministry said. Spokesman Lamine al-Hachemi said another child was seriously wounded and...
Sahel: Conflict with Jihadists expands to southwest Niger
Niamey, Oct 7, 2019 - Two soldiers were killed and five others wounded in a "terrorist" attack in southwest Niger, a region that until recently had been spared jihadist raids, the interior ministry said Monday. "A detachment of the security and defence forces (FDS)...
Libya: Warlord Haftar’s air raid targets civilians, injures children
Tripoli, Oct 7, 2019 - An air raid on riding stables near the Libyan capital Tripoli has wounded at least six people, including children, sparking condemnation from the United Nations and the unity government. An African worker was also among the six people wounded in...
Sahel: Mali president Boubacar Keita dismisses coup speculation
Bamako, Oct 6, 2019 - Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on Sunday rejected as speculation talk of a military coup after recent jihadist attacks left dozens of soldiers dead near the border with Burkina Faso. Keita said lessons would be learned after 38 soldiers...
Libya: US kills suspected IS insurgents in raid on Libya
The US military command for Africa announced Friday it killed 17 suspected Islamic State group jihadists in southern Libya, in the third such strike in a week. "At this time, it is assessed the airstrike killed 17 terrorists" on Thursday, Africom said in a statement....
Libya: Two killed in drone strike in Sirte, raid on Mitiga airport
Tripoli, Sept 16, 2019 - Drone strikes on Libya's coastal town of Sirte killed two pro-unity government fighters and wounded 18 others on Monday, their force said, blaming foreign powers backing military strongman Khalifa Haftar. The three raids on the former Islamic...
Sahel: Clash near Goundam in Mali leaves three dead
A Malian soldier was killed and seven others injured in an ambush by gunmen on Wednesday in the northern Timbuktu region of the country, military and local sources said. The attack was carried out in the morning by armed men on a pickup truck about 20 kilometres (12...
Sahel: Security agents kidnapped in Mopti, Mali
Bamako, Sept 6, 2019 - Armed men abducted 22 members of a military unit comprising mainly Tuareg ex-rebels and former members of armed pro-government groups in violence-wracked Mali, the driver of their bus said Friday. The group, set to be incorporated into a...
Sahel: Kidnappings intensify in southeast Niger
Niamey, Sept 5, 2019 - At least 66 civilians were kidnapped in July in southeastern Niger near the border with Nigeria where the jihadist group Boko Haram is active, a UN source said Thursday. "At least 66 civilians including 44 women were abducted in July 2019 alone...