North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Algeria Plans Major Military Budget Increase for 2026
Algeria’s government is set to boost its military budget to historic levels in 2026, with over $24 billion earmarked for defense spending. This unprecedented increase, outlined in the country’s draft finance law, reflects Algeria’s aim to reinforce security amid regional instability and border threats. The new funding will prioritize modernizing military equipment and strengthening operational readiness, underscoring the military’s central role in national policy.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Sahel: Catholic priest missing in jihadist-hit Burkina Faso
A priest has gone missing in southeastern Burkina Faso, triggering fears of a kidnapping in the Sahel state, which is struggling with a five-year-old jihadist offensive, the Catholic Church said Wednesday. The bishop of Banfora, Lucas Kalfa Sanou, said Father Rodrigue...
Sahel: Roadside bomb kills soldiers in south Niger
Four soldiers were killed and eight others seriously injured by a roadside bomb in southeastern Niger, a region hit by jihadist attacks, the government said. The troops were pursuing "terrorists" on Monday following an attack the previous day on a military position in...
Sahel: Violence intensifies in Mali as France announces the killing of 15 insurgents
France's armed forces said Friday they had killed around 15 jihadists near Mali's border with Burkina Faso, where an al-Qaeda-linked group is active. Two operations took place at the weekend in the Boulikessi sector in central Mali, military headquarters said. On...
Sahel: Foreign forces unable to bring stability to Mali, four UN peacekeepers killed in Bambara Maoude
The death toll from an attack on UN peacekeepers in Mali has risen to four after another soldier died from his wounds, the United Nations said Thursday. A detachment of Ivorian peacekeepers was travelling between Douentza and Timbuktu in the northwest on Wednesday...
Breaking: Algeria: Terror attack in Tebessa kills five civilians
On 14 January 2020, a homemade bomb blast killed five civilians and wounded three others in eastern Algeria on Thursday, the defence ministry said, according to AFP. The attack happened at Oued Khenig-Roum near the municipality of Telidjane. . It added that a jihadist...
Tunisia says it neutralized Al-Qaeda cell plotting “terrorist attacks”
Tunisia has arrested a suspected branch leader of Al-Qaeda in North Africa, along with several others suspected of planning "terrorist" attacks, a judicial spokesman said Friday. "Two dangerous wanted individuals, one of whom is an Al-Qaeda leader", were arrested in...
Algeria’s foreign intelligence chief fired
The head of Algeria's foreign intelligence agency General Mohamed Bouzit, known as Youcef was dismissed on Thursday, January 7. Bouzit headed the Directorate of Documentation and External Security (DDSE), an intelligence agency that provided assessment on...
Sahel: Reports of 20 villagers killed in Mali region of Bounti
France said on Tuesday it had killed dozens of jihadists in a weekend air strike in central Mali, while several villagers and a local group said up to 20 wedding guests were killed by a helicopter. Social media has been buzzing with rumours since Sunday about events...
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...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Sahel: Massacre in Mali’s Mopti region claims more than 130 lives in case of ethnic conflict
Bamako, March 23, 2019 - Dogon hunters killed more than 100 people (updated to 130) in an attack on a Fulani village in central Mali on Saturday, local officials said, as a UN delegation visited the country. "The new toll is 115 dead" in the village of Ogossagou, said...
Burkina Faso: Jihadists are wrecking havoc on northern Burkina
March 22, 2019 - An offensive by Islamists in northern Burkina Faso has left dozens of civilians dead and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes, Human Rights Watch said Friday. "Atrocities by Islamist armed groups in Burkina Faso's northern Sahel region and by...
Chad: Boko Haram launches deadliest attack on military outpost in Chad
N'Djamena, March 22, 2019 - Twenty-three soldiers were killed in southwestern Chad on Friday when they came under attack from Boko Haram jihadists, a military official told AFP. "Boko Haram elements attacked the Chadian army position at around 1 am, killing 23...
Tunisia: Army kills three Islamic State suspects in Kasserine
Tunis, March 20, 2019 - Tunisian security forces have shot dead three Islamic State-linked militants suspected of involvement in the grisly killings of shepherds in the restive Kasserine region, the interior ministry said Wednesday. "Three terrorists were killed...
Sahel: Jihadists attack army camp in Mali’s Mopti region, kill scores of soldiers
Bamako, March 17, 2019 - An attack by suspected jihadists Sunday on an army camp in central Mali killed 23 soldiers, military sources said Monday, raising an initial toll of 21. A local politician and military sources had given the initial toll after a dawn attack...
Sahel: Niger-Boko Haram conflict intensifies, scores killed in Diffa
Niamey, March 13, 2019 - Niger said Wednesday it had killed 33 Boko Haram "terrorists" and seized vehicles and weapons in an operation in the Lake Chad region in the country's southeast. "Offensive actions carried out on Tuesday inflicted heavy losses on the enemy,"...
Sahel: More soldiers killed by an IED in Mali’s Mopti region
Bamako, March 12, 2019 - Six Malian troops were killed on Tuesday when their vehicles drove over improvised land mines in the centre of the West African country, the army said. Two army escort vehicles hit improvised explosive devices (IEDs) "leaving two dead in...
Morocco: Suspected Moroccan Jihadis back home, likely to face tough justice
Rabat, March 10, 2019 - Morocco said Sunday it had repatriated eight of its nationals from Syria, who will be investigated for "suspected involvement in acts linked to terrorism". "The competent Moroccan authorities proceeded on March 10 to repatriate a group of eight...
Sahe: Terror attacks on the rise in Mali, says UN
March 5, 2019 (AFP) - Security is worsening in Mali with terror attacks on the rise, targeting UN peacekeepers, Malian troops, international forces and civilians, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in a report on Tuesday. The threat from extremist groups has...
Sahel: Tension on Libya-Chad border mounts with killing of Chadian deserters
March 4, 2019 - Deserters from a Chadian rebel group based in Libya were ambushed at the border of the two countries leaving seven people dead, their group said Monday. The attack happened on Saturday at Sossal on the Chadian border where the deserters were supposed...