North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Sahel: Surging Jihadist Violence Batters the Sahel, Exposing Government Weakness
Jihadist violence has surged across the Sahel, with militants overrunning military bases, ambushing convoys, and forcing civilians to negotiate with armed groups for survival. Hardest hit are conflict corridors in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and northeastern Nigeria, where blockades and insecurity have left millions displaced or trapped in besieged communities.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
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...
Niger: 18 civilian killed in terror attack in Banibangou
A fresh attack in western Niger near the border with Mali has left 18 civilians dead, a local elected official said Thursday. The attack Wednesday was in the village of Deye Koukou in the Banibangou area, where 14 civilians were killed Sunday -- also by men aboard...
Tunisia: Three political parties under investigation over alleged foreign funding
Tunisia's judiciary has opened an investigation into allegations political parties received foreign funding ahead of national elections held in 2019, the prosecutor's office told AFP on Wednesday. Three parties are under investigation, the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha...
Libya: Militia gang leader Mohammed al-Kani gunned down
A Libyan militia gang leader accused of major human rights violations has been shot dead at a farm in the eastern city of Benghazi, a military source told AFP Tuesday. Mohammed al-Kani was gunned down after resisting members of the military who had arrived bearing an...
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...