North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Morocco Busts ‘Lions of the Caliphate’ Terror Cell After Yearlong Probe
Moroccan security services arrested 12 operatives of the so-called “Lions of the Caliphate in the Maghreb Al-Aqsa” after a yearlong investigation. Authorities say the terror cell, linked to Daesh in the Sahel, had a weapons cache in Errachidia and planned attacks in Morocco.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Libya: UN grapples with stubborn presence of mercenaries in Libya
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for all foreign troops and mercenaries to leave war-torn Libya during a meeting with the country newly appointed leader Tuesday, his spokesman said. Guterres "spoke separately with the President of the...
Sahel: No French troop drawdown from the Sahel, Macron announces escalation ahead
Macron says France to “decapitate” Al-Qaeda in the Sahel France will intensify its efforts to help "decapitate" Qaeda-linked groups in the Sahel, President Emmanuel Macron told regional leaders via video conference on Tuesday, according to AFP. Macron said the efforts...
Sahel: UN peacekeepers from Togo wounded in attack near Kerena in Mali
Around 20 United Nations peacekeepers were wounded in an attack on their base in central Mali on Wednesday, a UN spokesperson said, offering a provisional toll. Unidentified militants attacked a temporary base near Kerena, a village in the war-torn centre of the...
Western Sahara: Tensions running high as Polisario Front says three Moroccan soldiers killed in attack in Touizgui
In response to this article As a former journalist, I sympathize with others who struggle to find the correct wording to describe territories and movements. However, I must take issue gently with the item in today's weekly recap on the Polisario attack in southern...
Libya: UN Security Council signals willingness to contain Libyan crisis
The UN Security Council on Thursday instructed Secretary General Antonio Guterres to deploy ceasefire monitors to war-torn Libya. "As they examine your recommendation for an amended mandate for the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), the members of the...
Algeria: High-profile trial of terror group involved in murder of French hiker postponed
A trial in Algeria over the murder of French mountaineer Herve Gourdel by jihadists in 2014 was postponed Thursday due to the prime suspect's ill health, judicial sources said. Abdelmalek Hamzaoui, an alleged jihadist, had arrived at court for the opening hearing of...
Mali: Insurgents in armored vehicles kill ten Mali soldiers in Boni
Ten troops were killed in Mali's troubled central region early Wednesday when their camp came under attack from jihadists, security sources said. Their position at Boni, located between Douentza and Hombori in the Mopti region, was attacked by "heavily armed...
Tunisia: Soldiers killed in blast during anti-terror sweep at Mount Mghila
A landmine killed four Tunisian soldiers on Wednesday during an counter-terrorism operation in mountainous central Tunisia, the defence ministry said. "Four soldiers who were part of a military unit tasked with carrying out a combing operation of Mount Mghila looking...
Tunisia: President’s aide briefly hospitalized after opening suspect letter
The Tunisian president's chief of staff has been hospitalised after handling a suspicious letter addressed to head of state Kais Saied, his office said Thursday, suggesting an attempted poisoning. Nadia Akacha had opened the envelope addressed to Saied but found it...
Libya: Biden administration more assertive on the Libyan crisis
The United States on Thursday called for the immediate withdrawal of Russian and Turkish forces from Libya, after a deadline for them to leave was ignored. This appeal marked a firmer expression of US policy toward oil-rich Libya under the new administration of...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Libya: Clashes at Sherrara oil field in Murzuk
Tripoli, April 29, 2019 - Fighting took place overnight at Libya's main oil field, the National Oil Company said on Monday without identifying the combatants. The NOC said on Twitter that it "forcefully condemns overnight clashes and an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade)...
Sahel: Son of French hostage in Mali denounces French government inaction
Paris, April 28, 2019 (AFP) - The son of an elderly French woman abducted in Mali has accused Paris of refusing to talk to her abductors, in comments published Sunday that were disputed by French authorities. Armed jihadists abducted Sophie Petronin on December 24,...
Libya: Warlord Haftar hits civilian targets in air raid on Tripoli
Tripoli, April 28, 2019 - Air raids by the self-styled Libyan National Army against the capital on Saturday night killed four people and wounded 20 others, Libya's internationally recognised unity government said. But Amin al-Hachemi, a spokesman for the Government of...
Libya: Tripoli’s “residential areas turning into battlefields”
Tripoli, April 25, 2019 - Intensified fighting for control of the Libyan capital is turning residential areas of Tripoli into "battlefields", the International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday. "The humanitarian situation in and around Tripoli has deteriorated...
Tunisia: Army kills member of the Okba Ibn Nafaa Brigade, says MEA Risk
MEA Risk LLC reports that the Tunisian military killed an insurgent known as Usama al-Salmi on 23 April. He was killed during a confrontation with him and other members of the group in Kef. The identity of al-Salmi was confirmed by legal authorities after his body...
Libya: Death toll climbs, displacement accelerates in Tripoli
Tripoli, April 23, 2019 - At least 264 people have been killed and 1,266 wounded, including civilians, in an offensive by military strongman Khalifa Haftar to seize Libya's capital Tripoli, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. The UN agency called on Twitter...
Morocco arrests seven terror suspects
Rabat, April 23, 2019 (AFP) - Moroccan authorities said Tuesday they have arrested seven suspected jihadists with links to the Islamic State group. The suspects, aged between 22 and 28, were "supporters" of IS and suspected of planning "terrorist acts", the central...
Sahel: Dozen soldiers killed by insurgents in Mali
Bamako, April 21, 2019 - Suspected jihadists killed at least 11 soldiers in an attack Sunday in central Mali, the defence ministry said. The military outpost at Guire was attacked at around five in the morning, the ministry said, adding that there were also a number...
Algeria: The collapsing central state and the inevitable fall of the house of cards
By Arezki Daoud - 18 April 2019: A remnant of the Bouteflika regime, Tayeb Belaiz had the decency this week to resign under the intense pressure from the streets. He is just one card of the many that form this very fragile house of cards that is the Algerian...
Morocco: Arrest of suspect allegedly plotting terror attack on Spain
Madrid, April 17, 2019 (AFP) - Police have arrested a suspect in Morocco allegedly preparing a jihadist attack on Seville, the southern Spanish city known for its Holy Week processions, Spain's interior ministry said Wednesday. The intelligence and police services of...