North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
French Nationals Urged to Leave Mali as Insurgent Attacks Intensify in the Sahel
Defense ministers from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger met in Niamey to accelerate their joint military alliance, but no deployment date was confirmed. France is advising nationals to leave Mali “temporarily” amid deteriorating security, while international shipping companies hesitate to continue cargo routes. November 7 brought reports of multiple attacks by insurgents, further highlighting the region’s instability.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Algeria sacks General Mohamed Kaidi, head of the military Employment & Preparedness department, signals continued instability in military leadership
In a surprise move, General Mohamed Kaidi, the head of one of the most strategic departments in Algeria's defense system, was relieved of his post on 8 November in circumstances that remain unknown. As head of the Employment & Preparedness Department, Kaidi has...
Libya: France wants elections in December in Libya, to host talks this week
By Valérie Leroux and Jérôme Rivet French President Emmanuel Macron will host Friday an international conference aimed at ensuring Libya sticks to a plan to hold elections in December and turn a new page in its history, a decade after the overthrow of dictator Moamer...
Western Sahara: Tension in the Maghreb increases after killing of three Algerian truckers in contested region
Algeria-Morocco: Decades of tensions As Algeria accused Morocco of killing three of its truck drivers on a desert highway, we look at the North African neighbours' worsening relations. The disputed Western Sahara, which Rabat considers part of its kingdom but where...
Sahel: Jihadists strike in Niger’s Tillaberi region
A jihadist attack in Niger's volatile "tri-border" zone with Burkina Faso and Mali has killed dozens of members of a self-defence militia, local sources told AFP on Thursday. The assault took place on Tuesday at Adab-Dab, a village about 55 kilometres (32 miles) from...
Sahel: Chad rebels claim they want political solution and dialogue with military junta
Chad's main rebel groups said Tuesday they were conditionally willing to take part in national talks aimed at leading the country back to civilian rule after this year's coup. Idriss Deby Itno had ruled the coup-prone African country with an iron fist for three...
Central African Republic’s presidential guards fire on Egyptian soldiers, wound 10
Members of the Central African Republic's presidential guard fired on Egyptian peacekeepers in capital Bangui, injuring 10 of them, the UN mission in the poor nation said Tuesday, just two weeks before the end of their mandate. The "deliberate and unspeakable attack"...
Elusive peace: Libyan militias damage only functioning oil refinery during violent clash
Libya's only operational oil refinery was "severely" damaged after gunmen battled for three hours around the complex, the National Oil Corporation said. "The Zawiya Oil Complex was severely damaged as a result of skirmishes by armed groups," Libya's state oil company...
Egypt: Sisi uses Facebook to announce lifting of state of emergency
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday announced the lifting of the state of emergency in place since deadly jihadist attacks on Coptic Christian churches more than four years ago. The North African country has been under a state of emergency since April...
Lebanon: Deadly clashes in Beyrout after rally against port blast judge
By Rouba El Husseini and Hashem Osseiran: The health ministry said 32 people were wounded. Amal said three of its members were killed, while Hezbollah announced that funerals of two men and one woman would take place on Friday. A doctor at Beirut's Sahel hospital...
Inside West Africa’s drug trade
By Selim Saheb Ettaba: West Africa is a small but strategic hub for smugglers moving drugs from Latin America to Europe and the Middle East. What is Africa's role in the drug trade? Africa appears to have become an attractive hub for drug transshipments mainly...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Libya: Warlord Khalifa Hartar pursues attacks on Misrata as death toll in Tripoli reaches 1,100
Tripoli, Aug 6, 2019 - Forces loyal to Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar said they launched air strikes early Tuesday against an airbase in third city Misrata held by government loyalists. "Our air force carried out several raids against the Misrata airbase, targeting...
Libya: Khalifa Haftar’s army kills 42 civilians in Morzuk
Tripoli, Aug 5, 2019 - At least 42 people were killed and dozens wounded in an air strike targeting a town hall meeting in southern Libya, a local official and the UN-recognised government said Monday, accusing forces of military strongman Khalifa Haftar. The...
Libyan civilian plane escapes bombing at Mitiga Airport in Tripoli
Tripoli, Aug 5, 2019 - A Libyan airliner has narrowly escaped being hit by incoming fire as it landed at war-torn capital Tripoli's sole functioning airport, aviation officials said. "The crew on the flight from Benghazi, which was carrying 124 passengers, avoided...
Tunisia: Army kills two insurgents near Bou Amrane
Two armed alleged jihadists have been shot dead in an "anti-terrorist" operation led by national guard and army units in southern Tunisia, the interior ministry said Saturday. The two "terrorists" were killed in the mountainous area of Orbata in Gafsa, the ministry...
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...