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
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...
Libya: Authorities find bodies of people in Benghazi likely killed execution style
The bodies of 11 people bearing gunshot wounds were discovered on Thursday in eastern Libya's Benghazi, said a security source, suggesting they had been "executed". "Security forces were alerted on Thursday of the presence of 11 unidentified bodies at the southern...
Repression: How the Egyptian army destroyed the Sinai in the name of the “war on terror”
Egyptian troops have demolished more than 12,300 buildings in the Sinai Peninsula since 2013 in a campaign of forced evictions that likely amount to "war crimes", Human Rights Watch said Wednesday. A decade-old jihadist insurgency in North Sinai province escalated in...
Libya: Foreign meddlers continue to maintain thousands of mercenaries in Libya
Libya's prime minister-designate demanded the departure Tuesday of an estimated 20,000 foreign fighters as he sought support from lawmakers to help end a grinding civil war in the North African nation. Oil-rich Libya descended into chaos after dictator Moamer Kadhafi...
Senegal braces for Jihadist spillover from the Sahel
Senegal's President Macky Sall said Tuesday that his native country and neighbouring West African states must "prepare to do battle" to stop jihadist expansion beyond the Sahel. In an interview broadcast that day by French radio RFI, the president also urged a more...
Egypt-USA: Biden administration maintains support to Egypt’s Sisi, sells him more weapons
US President Joe Biden's administration on Tuedsay approved a nearly $200 million arms sale to Egypt but vowed to press human rights issues after a US activist reported harassment of his family. The Biden administration -- which has vowed to end support for Saudi...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
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...
Moroccan Jihadists to go on trial for murder of Scandinavian hikers
Rabat, April 30, 2019 - By Hamza MEKOUAR - Two dozen suspects are set to go on trial in Morocco Thursday for offences linked to the gruesome murder of two young Scandinavian hikers late last year that shocked the North African country. Danish student Louisa Vesterager...
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...