North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Mali: Diplomatic Rift Widens as France Expels Malian Envoys, Halts Counterterrorism Ties
Diplomatic ties between Mali and France have sharply deteriorated after Mali detained a French national on coup-plotting charges, leading France to expel two Malian diplomats and suspend joint counterterrorism efforts. In response, Mali expelled five French embassy staff, ending a lengthy era of security cooperation between the two countries.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Chad military junta says counterinsurgency campaign is working, rules out dialogue
Rebels who launched an offensive in northern Chad, sparking clashes that claimed the life of veteran president Idriss Deby Itno, are in flight, the country's new defence minister said on Thursday. "The security forces are thoroughly sweeping the operational area. Most...
Egypt worsens its foreign debt to buy more French fighter jets
Editor’s Opinion: They spend money they don’t have on military equipment they don’t need By Arezki Daoud - Egypt is spending money it does not have on military equipment it may never use. This is not unusual for MENA countries, although the nations flush with cash can...
Sahel: Clashes in Niger intensify, dozens killed
Niger army killed 24 'suspected terrorists': government Niger troops killed 24 "suspected terrorists' after they sought to escape after being captured in the west of the country, the government said Sunday. The suspects had been planning an attack on the market town...
Sahel: Chad army and opposition rebels clash in Kanem
Government troops and rebels clashed on Thursday in a region of western Chad where president Idriss Deby Itno was killed earlier this month, a spokesman said. The fighting in the desert region of Kanem, near Chad's border with Niger, pits Libya-based rebels against...
Mali: Three UN peacekeepers wounded in Mali attack
Three United Nations peacekeepers were on Sunday seriously injured in a rocket attack on a military base in the north of the conflict-ridden Sahel state, UN and local officials said. Olivier Salgado, the spokesman for the UN's MINUSMA mission in Mali, said the attack...
Chad: Hunt of alleged killers of president Deby expands to Niger
Chad's new ruling junta on Sunday vowed to root out a rebel leader accused of "war crimes", seeking help from neighbouring Niger to track him down along with his fighters. The army has "located the enemy spread out in small groups, now regrouping in Niger territory,"...
Sahel: Lawlessness in northern Chad
Northern Chad is a restive region and a breeding ground for rebel groups which oppose the N'Djamena authorities. A lawless zone abandoned to illegal gold miners and gangs of traffickers, the troubled Sahel region is scarcely populated and difficult to control. The...
Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula continues on its path to complete instability
Egypt's interior ministry said Monday it killed three "terrorist elements" in the Sinai Peninsula suspected of involvement in the execution of a Coptic Christian claimed by an Islamic State-affiliated group. "National security received intelligence about a group of...
Mali: Fighting between hunters and insurgents wrecks havoc on Mopti region
About 40 people have been killed in recent clashes between jihadists and traditional hunters, the government of central Mali's Mopti region said Monday, with the fighting displacing around 1,000 people. The war-torn region's government said in a statement that clashes...
Sahel: Chad claims it killed hundreds of “rebels” near Libya border
The Chadian army said Monday it had killed 300 rebels in the north of the country at the weekend, adding that it had lost five of its soldiers. A heavily armed rebel group had launched a raid from its rear base in Libya on April 11, the same day as Chad's presidential...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Libya: Four kidnapped foreign workers in Libya released
May 17, 2019 - Three Filipino civil engineers and a South Korean colleague kidnapped in Libya last July have been released and flown to the United Arab Emirates, the UAE foreign ministry said Friday. It said the engineers held by unidentified armed groups were freed...
France’s Total to get Anadarko Africa’s assets: What are the challenges ahead?
The takeover of Anadarko by Occidental paves the way for France's Total to acquire Anadarko assets and projects in Africa. A MEA Risk analysis says from afar, this looks like a good deal as all the projects in these countries have tremendous upsides. But it also...
Sahel: Death toll in ambush on Niger soldiers increases to 28
Update: May 17, 2019 (AFP) - The Islamic State group Thursday claimed an ambush on an army patrol in Niger that killed at least 28 troops. A military patrol was ambushed on Tuesday near the village of Tongo Tongo in the western Tillaberi region, near the Mali border,...
Libya: How Tripoli residents cope with Haftar’s incessant attacks
Tripoli, May 16, 2019 (By Rim Taher) - Peering through the gate of a home in the western suburbs of Libya's war-torn capital, seven-year-old Chehab shyly looked on as children streamed down the nearby street. "I'll just play by myself," he muttered, holding a ball...
Egypt: War rages in northeast Egypt, 52 killed in latest clash
Cairo, May 16, 2019 (AFP) - Egypt's army on Thursday said 47 militants and five of its troops were killed as part of its military offensive in the restive Sinai Peninsula, where it is fighting the Islamic State group. The suspected militants had "guns of different...
Libya: Haftar follows Sarraj’s path, visits European leaders
Rome, May 16, 2019 - Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, who has launched a military offensive against the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, held surprise talks with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in Rome on Thursday ahead of a visit to Paris next week,...
Sahel: Another ambush in Niger claims at least 17 soldiers
May 15, 2019 - Gunmen killed 17 Niger soldiers in an ambush near the border with Mali, a security source said Wednesday, adding 11 were still missing a day later. The attack occurred Tuesday near the village of Tongo Tongo in the western Tillaberi region where four US...
Libya: More weapons flowing into Libya
May 13, 2019 - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has told the Security Council he is deeply concerned by the battle for Tripoli and reports of fresh weapons supplies flowing into Libya, according to a report seen by AFP on Monday. Guterres reported to the council...
Sahel: Terror attack on Christian church in Badlo, Burkina Faso
Ouagadougou, May 12, 2019 - Gunmen killed a priest and five parishioners during mass Sunday in an attack on a Catholic church in Dablo, northern Burkina Faso, security sources and a local official said. "Towards 9:00 am, during mass, armed individuals burst into the...
Libya: Claiming to fight against terror groups, warlord Haftar is enabling the return of Islamic State
Tripoli, May 11, 2019 (Imed Lamloum) - The battle for Tripoli between rival Libyan forces both championing the fight against "terrorism" has created a security vacuum, allowing the Islamic State group a chance to re-emerge, analysts warn. Libya expert Emad Badi says...