North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Turkey: Erdogan’s Winning Strategy in Africa
Despite the wave of coups d’état in West Africa, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had close ties to the ousted regimes of Guinea, Mali, and Niger, has successfully protected his country’s interests in the region. He has done so through a strategy that combines drone diplomacy with business interests.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Libya: Pro-election youth leader Imad al-Harathi kidnapped
A Libyan youth leader was abducted by unidentified gunmen after calling for demonstrations in support of scheduled December elections, the UN said, voicing concern for his safety. Imad al-Harathi, head of the North African country's National Youth League, "was...
European court rejects Morocco-EU trade deals involving Western Sahara territory
Reactions The Polisario, which seeks independence in the Western Sahara, welcomed a ruling Wednesday by the U's top court cancelling trade deals that allow Morocco to export goods from the territory. "The European court has decided to annul the partnership and fishing...
Sahel: Russia’s entry into the Sahel raises concern in the region
Chad's foreign minister warned against outside interference on Thursday, referencing Russian paramilitaries operating in neighboring countries. Cherif Mahamat Zene said "external interference, wherever it comes from, poses a very serious problem for the stability and...
Algeria closes airspace to all Moroccan planes
By Abdellah Cheballa: Algeria said Wednesday it has closed its airspace to all Moroccan planes due to "provocations and hostile practices" by its neighbour, in the latest dispute between the countries at odds mainly over Western Sahara. The move comes after Algeria...
Libya: Rival forces agree to protect water network
The United Nations on Thursday welcomed the creation of a joint security force from rival sides in Libya to secure the country's water network amid sabotage threats. "It is a very significant step forward towards the unification of the military institution and the...
Libya: Water supply to west and south Libya cut because of political terrorism
Libyan authorities have shut water supplies to swathes of the country after gunmen demanding the release of a jailed Kadhafi-era official threatened to sabotage the water network. Supplies to western and southwestern Libya were interrupted overnight Saturday to...
Egypt army says 13 jihadists killed in Sinai
Egyptian forces have killed 13 Islamist militants during clashes in the restive Sinai Peninsula, the army said. In a statement late Thursday, it said nine of its soldiers had been "killed or wounded", without indicating when the fighting had taken place. "In the...
Sahel: Violence in the Sahel continues to escalate with no end in sight
Deadly competition between two insurgent groups spreads terror in Lake Chad Here is a factfile on Boko Haram and its rival ISWAP following the killing of 24 Chadian troops in the troubled Lake Chad area: The insurgency initiated by Boko Haram in 2009 has left more...
Egypt: Intense violence in North Sinai
Egypt's military said Sunday it has killed 89 suspected insurgents in operations in North Sinai, a region where an affiliate of the Islamic State group has been active for nearly a decade. "Amid ongoing efforts in pursuing and defeating terrorist elements...during the...
Sahel: Another attack in SW Niger at border with Burkina Faso
Fifteen soldiers have been killed and six more are missing after a "terrorist" attack in southwest Niger, near the border with Burkina Faso, the defence ministry announced Sunday. The soldiers were first ambushed and later hit by an improvised explosive device as they...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Libya: Fighting continues in Tripoli
Tripoli, July 30, 2019 - Rocket fire forced flights to be suspended and passengers evacuated at the Libyan capital's airport, where a UN envoy warned civilian aircraft had come "perilously close" to being hit. Fighting has raged on Tripoli's doorstep since Libyan...
Sahel: Fifteen killed in Jihadi attack in Burkina Faso
Ouagadougou, July 27, 2019 - Armed men described as jihadists raided a village in Burkina Faso's restive north, killing 15 people, plundering and burning shops and motorbikes, a regional governor said Saturday. The raid took place on the night of Thursday to Friday...
Libya: Warlord Haftar bombs hospital near Tripoli, kills dozen
Tripoli, July 28, 2019- Five doctors were killed in an air strike by forces of Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar on a field hospital near the capital, the health ministry of the UN-recognised government said. Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army launched an...
Libya: Misrata militia says it captured Qaeda leaders
Tripoli, July 25, 2019 - A Libyan militia has arrested a number of Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist leaders in a raid near the capital Tripoli, the group said. The Misrata Joint Security Force carried out the raid against "wanted terrorists, classified as Al-Qaeda leaders",...
Sahel: Six people die of hunger after militia isolated their village in Mali
Bamako, July 24, 2019 - The Malian army will urgently deliver food and medical supplies to a region in central Mali, the prime minister said Wednesday, following the deaths of six people from malnutrition after their village was cut off by militias. Insecurity in the...
Libya: Fighting intensifies near Tripoli
Tripoli, July 23, 2019 - Forces loyal to Libya's UN-recognised government said they fought off a "major" attack on the capital Tripoli led by strongman Khalifa Haftar that left casualties on both sides. On Monday "our forces repelled a major attack by Haftar forces on...
Sahel: Foreign troops wounded in attack on military base in Mali
Paris, July 22, 2019 - Three French and Estonian troops were wounded on Monday when a car bomb exploded at the entrance to an international peace-keeping base in the Malian town of Gao, France's military said on Monday. "There was an attack... at the entrance to the...
Egypt: Islamic State beheads four civilians in North Sinai
Cairo, July 17, 2019 - On Wednesday, 17 July, Islamic State militants beheaded four civilians in Sheikh Zuweid, in town in Egypt's North Sinai after they allegedly collaborated with the Egyptian military. In online statements, the Islamic State group claimed...
Sahel: Soldiers ambushed in NE Mali
Bamako, July 18, 2019 - A Malian soldier was killed and two others wounded in an ambush on their convoy in the northeast of the country near the border with Niger, the Malian Armed Forces said on Thursday. The soldiers had been part of a "logistical escort mission"...
Morocco: Killers of European tourists get death sentence
Salé, Morocco, July 18, 2019 - Three Islamic State group supporters were sentenced to death by a court in Morocco on Thursday over the beheadings of two Scandinavian women on a hiking trip in the High Atlas Mountains. The defendants had asked God for forgiveness...