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
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...
Sahel: Insurgency is destabilizing Burkina Faso, with mass population displacement
Record numbers of people in Burkina Faso have become internally displaced or fled abroad as a result of jihadist violence, the UN's Refugee Agency said on Friday. In the first half of 2021, 237,000 people fled to other parts of Burkina Faso, compared to 96,000...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
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...
Libya: UAE weapons used by warlord Haftar
Dubai, July 2, 2019 - The UAE denied Tuesday it shipped US missiles to Libya, which is under a UN arms embargo, after a democratic senator warned Washington could cut off arms sales to the Emirates. The foreign ministry "denied the ownership of weapons found in Libya...
Libya: Haftar’s embarrassing defeat in Gharyan may complicate the Libyan civil war
Tripoli, July 2, 2019 - By Imed Lamloum - Libya's military strongman Khalifa Haftar, by provoking Turkey, seeks to divert attention from battlefield setbacks and draw in his backers, at the risk of a proxy war between regional rivals, experts say. The strongman of...
Libya: Haftar frees Turkish sailors before it is too late
July 1, 2019 - Six Turkish sailors held by forces led by Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar have been freed, a Turkish foreign ministry official said on Monday. "The sailors are free. According to their wishes, they continue to work," said the official, speaking on...
Libya: Warlord Haftar complicates his situation as he loses Gharyan
Benghazi, Libya, June 29, 2019 - Strongman Khalifa Haftar has threatened to attack Turkish interests in Libya after suffering a serious setback in his push to take the capital Tripoli, accusing Ankara of backing his rivals. Anti-Haftar forces supporting Libya's...
Morocco: Lawyers speak of Moroccan government failure to track terrorists, as suspects face death penalty
Salé, Morocco, June 27, 2019 - Lawyers for the family of a Danish hiker murdered last year in Morocco said on Thursday that authorities had failed to monitor the activities of some suspects before the killing. Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and...
Tunisia: Main attacks in Tunisia since 2011 revolution
Tunis, June 27, 2019 - Two suicide bombers attacked security forces in the Tunisian capital on Thursday, killing a police officer and wounding at least eight people including several civilians, the interior ministry said. One attack on the main street of Tunis wounded...
Morocco: Killers of European tourists in Morocco face death penalty
Salé, Morocco, June 27, 2019 - (By Ismail Bellaouali) - Moroccan prosecutors on Thursday called for the death penalty for the three main jihadist suspects on trial for the "bloodthirsty" murder of two young Scandinavian hikers. The maximum sentence was sought for...
Libya: Setback for warlord Haftar as Tripoli forces retake Gharyan
Tripoli, June 26, 2019 - Libyan forces opposed to Khalifa Haftar claimed Wednesday to have retaken Gharyan, a strategic town where the controversial strongman's fighters were based in the west of the country. "Gharyan is under our total control," said Mustafa...