North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Africa: New Warning of Evolving Hybrid Threats Linking Terrorism, Crime, and Climate Pressures Across Africa
Mauritania is warning that Africa’s security landscape is shifting from ideological insurgencies to profit-driven “religious-front criminal enterprises,” describing how jihadist networks have merged with organized crime.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Sahel: IED kills 16 soldiers between Koro et Bandiagara in Mali
Sixteen soldiers were killed and 10 wounded in an attack in central Mali on Wednesday, security and health officials in the war-torn Sahel state said. In a statement, Mali's army said the troops had been the target of a "complex IED attack" -- referring to an...
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...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
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...
Tunisia: Islamic State Group issues new threat against Tunisia
Tunis, July 17, 2019 - The Islamic State group has called for more attacks in Tunisia in a rare propaganda video purportedly filmed by the jihadists in the North African nation. It comes three weeks after a twin suicide attack against police in the capital Tunis...
Egypt: Suicide bomb attack claims two lives in Sheikh Zuweid
Cairo, July 18, 2019- Two people including a civilian were killed in a suicide bomb attack Thursday targeting security forces in the restive Sinai Peninsula, medical and security sources said. The attack hit forces stationed near a parking lot in the city of Sheikh...
Libya: The backers of warlord Khalifa Haftar are calling for halt of fighting
Washington, July 16, 2019 - Key powers including backers of a rebel leader called Tuesday for a halt to fighting in Libya, warning that bloodshed was aggravating a crisis on multiple fronts. The United States, France, Britain and Italy joined Egypt and the United Arab...
Sahel: The bizarre idea of the International Crisis Group to solve the security crisis in Mali
Commentary by Arezki Daoud: The highly respected International Crisis Group (ICG) has proposed to Mali the controversial idea of engaging in negotiations between the government in Bamako and the insurgent groups. ICG advised Bamako to engage into negotiations with...
Morocco: Judges under intense pressure to issue death penalty to killers of European tourists
Salé, Morocco, July 11, 2019 - The mother of a Danish student beheaded along with another Scandinavian woman while hiking in Morocco's High Atlas mountains called Thursday for the suspected jihadist killers to face the death penalty as their trial neared its end. "The...
Libya: Car bomb at a Benghazi funeral claims three lives
Benghazi, Libya, July 11, 2019 - A car bomb exploded during the funeral of an ex-army commander in the Libyan city of Benghazi on Thursday, killing at least three people and wounding 15, a hospital said. A security official said the attack, the first in over a year in...
Tunisia: Suspected mastermind of twin suicide attacks blows himself up, as death toll from his attack rises to two
Tunis, July 3, 2019 - The suspected mastermind of last week's twin suicide bombings in Tunis was killed when he blew himself up during a police manhunt outside the capital, the government said Wednesday. Police had tracked the suspect down to the working class suburb...
Libya: Khalifa Haftar warplane kills 40 migrants who were jailed in a detention center
Tripoli, July 3, 2019 (By Imed LAMLOUM) - Nearly 40 migrants were killed in an air strike Tuesday night on their detention centre in a Tripoli suburb blamed on Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, who has been trying for three months to seize the capital. At least 70...