North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Sahel: Russia Replaces Wagner in Mali Under Pressure from Algeria, Touaregs Brace
With Wagner stepping aside, the Africa Corps is moving in, bringing structure and legitimacy to Moscow’s support for Bamako. Touareg leaders, fearing a more efficient and state-backed force, have begun testing quiet understandings with jihadist factions like GSIM. It’s not a formal alliance, but a sign of growing desperation in a region where alliances shift quickly and survival often overrides ideology.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
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...
Sahel: Month-long French military campaign in Mali leads to 100 insurgents dead, says France
A hundred jihadists were killed this month in a joint Franco-Malian offensive in the West African country's lawless centre, the Malian army said Tuesday. "One hundred terrorists were neutralised, about 20 captured and several motorbikes and war equipment were seized"...
Sahel: Feuding herders and farmers in central Mali endorse peace
Representatives from herder and farmer communities that have become ensnarled in violence sparked by jihadist attacks in central Mali have signed three "peace agreements," a Swiss mediator said. The accords brings together the Fulani, also called Peul, who mainly...
Western Sahara: Morocco-Polisario conflict escalates
Pro-independence rebels fighting Morocco over the disputed territory of Western Sahara on Sunday vowed a military escalation, hours after launching an overnight attack. The Polisario Front said they had bombarded the Morocco-controlled area of Guerguerat, a crossing...
Libya: Russian and other foreign mercenaries still active in Libya
Foreign forces ignored a deadline to pull out of Libya as scheduled Saturday under a UN-backed ceasefire deal, highlighting the fragility of peace efforts after a decade of conflict. Satellite images broadcast by CNN show a trench running tens of kilometres (miles)...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
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,...
Libya: Thousands flee, population stranded inside conflict zone in Tripoli
April 12, 2019 - More than 8,000 people have fled fighting around Libya's capital, half of whom have been displaced over the last two days, the United Nations said Friday. "Displacements from areas affected by the clashes in an around Tripoli continue to surge," UN...
Libya crisis update – 11 April 2019
Tripoli, April 11, 2019 - By Rim Taher and Imed Lamloum - The UN chief warned Libya is on the brink of "a very dangerous situation" as forces loyal to the internationally recognised government and a rival strongman battle for control of the capital. Thousands of...