North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
War in Gaza forces former Middle East foes to seek reconciliation
By Mondafrique: The war in Gaza is forcing feuding States in the Middle East and in the Gulf to seek the path of reconciliations. Faced with President Biden’s inability to impose a red line on Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the four most influential...
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Tunisia wants UN monitors in Libya
Tunisia, the current president of the UN Security Council, called Monday for a resolution sending international monitors to support Libya's brittle ceasefire to be adopted as soon as possible. "We hope that it will be adopted as soon as possible" because "there is a...
Algeria: Nine killed in army-insurgent clashes in Tipaza, including three soldiers
Another clash on Sunday claims life of third soldier Another soldier and two more jihadists were killed Sunday afternoon during an "anti-terror" operation in the Tipaza region of Western Algeria, the defence ministry said. The second clash in the region within 24...
Libya: More evidence of Moscow’s meddling in Libya affairs: Russians operatives freed in Libya
Three Russians and one Ukrainian have been released from captivity in Libya, the head of a controversial Moscow-based political organisation said Saturday, drawing attention to the Kremlin's role in conflict-torn Libya. The head of Defence of National Values, a...
Sahel: Massacre in west Niger, hundred killed in ‘terror’ attacks
"Terrorists" killed around 100 people in two villages in western Niger, the latest in a string of civilian massacres that have rocked the jihadist-plagued Tillaberi region, a local mayor said Sunday. The attacks on the villages of Tchoma Bangou and Zaroumadareye...
Mali: Two more French soldiers killed in IED explosion in Menaka
Two French soldiers died when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in northeastern Mali on Saturday, just days after three others were killed in similar fashion. Their deaths brought to 50 the number of French soldiers killed in the West African nation...
Mali military junta ratchets up repression against political figures
The Malian authorities on Thursday charged six figures, including a former prime minister, with seeking to mount a coup, a move that came after a military putsch in August, their lawyers said. The public prosecutor's office in the capital Bamako said in a statement...
Algeria: Another difficult year ahead, says MEA Risk
Algeria ends the year 2020 with 1,878 critical incidents, down 35.4% from 2,909 in 2019, according to MEA Risk LLC. Critical incidents are defined as events that have an impact on the stability of a region, subregion within a country or an entire country. The figure...
Sahel: Three French troops killed by EID in Hombori, Mali
Three French soldiers were killed Monday in Mali when their armoured vehicle struck an explosive device in the Hombori region in the centre of the poor Sahel state, the French presidency said. The deaths brought to 47 the number of French soldiers killed in Mali since...
Algeria alleges ransom money paid to Jihadists in Mali making its way into Algeria
Algeria's army has retrieved a "slice of the ransom" cash paid out to free hostages held by "terrorist groups" in the troubled Sahel region, the defence ministry has said. Soldiers "recovered the sum of 80,000 euros" ($97,900) during an operation in Algeria's...
Tunisia extends state of emergency, grants exceptional powers to security forces
The Tunisian presidency on Friday announced a six-month extension of the country's state of emergency, in place since a 2015 attack on a presidential guard bus claimed by the Islamic State group. President Kais Saied "decided on the six-month extension of the...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
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...
Libya: How the Internet and new media are worsening the crisis in Libya
Tripoli, April 18, 2019 - On Libya's front lines, fighters often hold a gun in one hand and a smartphone in the other, using their cameras in the propaganda war. Since strongman Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive to seize the capital Tripoli, most Libyans have...
Libya: Unity government issues arrest warrant for Haftar
Tripoli, April 18, 2019 (AFP) - Libya's unity government on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for strongman general Khalifa Haftar for allegedly ordering deadly air strikes against civilian areas. Six of Haftar's officers were also named in the warrant issued by the...
Libya: UN envoys predicts doom in Libya
Tripoli, April 18, 2019 - The UN's Libya envoy warned Thursday of "a widening conflagration" in the North African country, saying international divisions had encouraged strongman Khalifa Haftar to launch his assault on Tripoli. But for now, Ghassan Salame told AFP in...
Libya: UN Security Council debates over ceasefire while Tripoli crumbles
Tripoli, April 17, 2019 - The death toll from rocket fire on the Libyan capital Tripoli, blamed by the UN-recognised government on strongman Khalifa Haftar, climbed to six on Wednesday as thousands more civilians fled the violence. The latest bombing came as world...
Sahel: Boko Haram attacks military base in Bouhama, Chad
N'Djamena, April 15, 2019 - Fighting between Chad soldiers and Boko Haram jihadists killed dozens, including 63 "terrorists", in an overnight attack on a military base, an army spokesman said Monday. Seven soldiers were killed and 15 wounded when "the terrorists...
Libya: The battle for Tripoli rages on, 147 killed
Tripoli, April 15, 2019 - At least 147 people have been killed and 614 wounded in the offensive launched on April 4 by Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar to take the capital Tripoli, the World Health Organization said Monday. The clashes have displaced more than...
Morocco: Swiss national sentenced to prison for terrorism
Rabat, April 12, 2019 - A Moroccan court has sentenced a Swiss citizen arrested in connection with the murder of two Scandinavian hikers to 10 years in prison on terrorism charges, his lawyer said Friday. Kahlil Idriss said the man, identified only as Nicolas P., 33,...