North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Libya’s Fragile Peace Shaken Again by Local Violence
Tensions are flaring again in Libya, from deadly street battles in Tripoli’s suburbs to violent protests in Sabratha. The killing of a well-known militia leader and the death of a police officer days apart reveal a deeper unraveling—where everyday disputes turn into...
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Mali: UN says insurgents who attacked peacekeepers killed in counter-attack
More than 40 jihadists, including a senior commander, were killed last week after they attacked United Nations peacekeepers in northern Mali, the UN force MINUSMA said on Monday. A UN source previously said about 20 of around 100 assailants were killed in a three-hour...
Niger’s new president term starts amid intense violence
Niger's defence ministry said Sunday that four of its soldiers had been killed the day before in twin "terrorist" attacks in the country's southeast, the day after President Mohamed Bazoum was sworn in. "Several terrorists" had been killed in the simultaneous Saturday...
Africa: With terror groups intensely fixated on Africa, security outlook feels gloomy
By Didier Lauras - From the arid expanses of the Sahel into the Sinai Peninsula and now Mozambique, Africa is proving fertile ground for jihadist groups looking to bolster their notoriety by exploiting conflicts that have often festered for years. The fighters who...
Sahel: Violence in Niger as country prepares to inaugurate a new president
By Boureima Hama - Elite troops in Niger thwarted an "attempted coup" early Wednesday, a security source said, just two days before the historic inauguration of Mohamed Bazoum as president of the chronically unstable Sahel nation. Residents earlier reported hearing...
Libyan authorities on the hunt for killers of Al Warfalli, arrest suspect
Libyan authorities Saturday announced increased security measures in second city Benghazi and the arrest of two suspects in connection with the killing of a militia leader wanted by the International Criminal Court. Security is precarious in Benghazi with frequent...
Sahel: Attacks on Niger targets continue
Eleven people were killed on Wednesday in western Niger, a flashpoint for jihadist attacks, when armed men on motorbikes raided three villages near the Malian border, local officials said. "The assailants arrived on several motorbikes at around 5pm. They killed three...
Libya: First group of mercenaries linked to Turkey leaving Libya
Pro-Ankara Syrian militia fighters deployed in Libya have started to withdraw, a French diplomatic source said on Thursday, describing the move as "encouraging". "This is one of the encouraging gestures that we have seen. There are movements (of the Syrian militia...
Mali: French military accused of killing six people in raid on Talataye, France denies
Six people were killed in northeastern Mali on Thursday in disputed circumstances, with French forces saying a strike targeted jihadists and local residents alleging those left dead were young hunters. It was the second time in recent months that an air strike had...
Sahel: Niger’s Tahoua region targeted by terror groups, dozens killed in fresh raids
Scores of people have died in the deadliest suspected jihadist massacre ever to hit Niger, the government said Monday, underscoring the huge security challenge facing new President Mohamed Bazoum. Government spokesman Zakaria Abdourahamane said 137 people had died in...
Libya: Women making modest progress in politics but glass ceiling still strong
By Hamza Mekouar and Jihad Dorgham: Libya's new government includes five women, with two in key portfolios -- a first for the country nonetheless criticised by activists as insufficient and as not living up to a UN commitment. Libya descended into conflict after...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Sahel: Two French soldiers killed while rescuing foreign hostages in Burkina Faso
May 10, 2019 - French special forces have freed two French hostages, an American and a South Korean in northern Burkina Faso in an overnight military raid in which two soldiers died, authorities announced Friday. The operation was ordered to free the French tourists,...
Libya: Islamic State strikes again, attacks town in south of Libya
Tripoli, May 9, 2019 - Two civilians were killed and four captured Thursday in a southern Libyan town held by strongman Khalifa Haftar, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group, sources said. Gunmen in more than 10 vehicles launched the attack on Ghodwa early...
Libya: Haftar’s army says it downed warplane, captured “foreign mercenary”
Tripoli, May 7, 2019 - Troops loyal to Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar said Tuesday they shot down a warplane and captured its foreign "mercenary" pilot near the capital Tripoli. The Mirage F1 was downed in Al-Hira region, 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of...
Libya: Despite the start of Ramadan, warlord Haftar maintains his destruction of Tripoli
Tripoli, May 6, 2019 - Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, who launched an offensive against Tripoli last month, has urged his troops to teach unity government forces an "even harder lesson", as the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan begins. Haftar's self-styled Libyan...
Libya: Lawmakers slam Haftar’s assault on Tripoli
Tripoli, May 2, 2019 (AFP) - Dozens of Libyan lawmakers supporting the internationally-recognised government on Thursday condemned an offensive by commander Khalifa Haftar on Tripoli, as they staged a meeting in the capital. The legislators have announced a boycott of...
Libya: As killings of civilians continue in Tripoli, UAE uses “terrorism” to justify its support of warlord Haftar
Opinion by Arezki Daoud: There is no mystery as to who support warlord Haftar in his raids on the civilian populations of Tripoli. Using "terrorism" is an old pretext that no one is buying anymore. Egypt, Saudi Arabi and the UAE (I will call collectively them ESU),...
Morocco: Trial of Jihadi suspects postponed
Salé, Morocco, May 2, 2019 - A Moroccan court adjourned on Thursday for two weeks the trial of two dozen suspects charged in connection with the murder of two Scandinavian hikers minutes after it opened. Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, and 28-year-old...
Libya: Fighting rages in Tripoli, death toll and population displacement increase
Fierce fighting continued over the last two days and overnight on the outskirts of Tripoli between the Khalifa Hafter-led Libyan National Army (LNA) and its aligned forces on the one hand, and forces aligned to the internationally recognized Presidency Council and...
German Chancellor calls for unified European approach to conflicts in the Maghreb and Sahel
Ouagadougou, May 2, 2019 - Europe must adopt a common position to resolve the Libyan crisis, which has boosted unrest in the Sahel, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday in Burkina Faso, a country hard-hit by jihadist violence. Her visit coincided with a...
Libya: Hundreds killed, scores wounded in Tripoli offensive
Espiaa, Libya, April 30, 2019 (By Simon Valmary) - Plumes of smoke rise from the plain south of Libya's capital as troops loyal to the UN-recognised government battle to fend off an assault on Tripoli. On the roof of an abandoned clinic, a fighter surveyed the dry...