North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
France’s decades-long military presence in Africa is winding down
France’s decades-long military presence in Africa is winding down as countries like Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire announce the closure of foreign bases, signaling a shift in regional dynamics and France’s influence.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Beyond the Sahel: Jihadi contagion spreads to the Ivory Coast
Korhogo, Ivory Coast, June 11, 2020 - Dozens of suspected jihadists attacked a frontier post on Ivory Coast's border with Burkina Faso before dawn on Thursday, killing around 10 soldiers, security sources said. It is the first assault by Islamist extremists on Ivorian...
Sahel: The who’s who of foreign forces in the Sahel
French troops who killed senior Al Qaeda leader Abdelmalek Droukdel in the Sahel region of Africa this week work alongside several allied military missions. Here is a roundup of anti-jihadist operations in the area. Barkhane Operation Barkhane is the biggest French...
Chad: French troops wounded in N’Djamena shooting
Paris, June 9, 2020 - Two French soldiers were shot and wounded Tuesday near the Chadian presidential palace in the capital N'Djamena, in what the French military described as an "accident." The two soldiers were on a reconnaissance patrol outside the palace to...
Libya: With their protégé warlord Haftar losing the war, Egypt and UAE want a ceasefire
The United Arab Emirates on Monday backed an Egyptian peace initiative in Libya after a series of military victories by forces loyal to Tripoli's UN-recognised government against strongman Khalifa Haftar. Haftar -- who is backed by the UAE and Egypt -- also supported...
Insurgency: France claims it killed Al-Qaeda’s Droukdel, arrests ISIS commander
French forces have killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Algerian Abdelmalek Droukdel, in northern Mali, France's defence minister said. Droukdel was killed on Thursday near the Algerian border, where the group has bases from which it has carried out...
Libya: Haftar’s forces lose Tarhouna in a disastrous retreat
Tripoli, June 5, 2020 - Libya's UN-recognised unity government retook the town of Tarhuna southeast of Tripoli on Friday, depriving eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar of his last redoubt in the west, a spokesman said. "Our heroic forces have extended their control...
Opinion: Morocco and Algeria wasting their money on useless military hardware
Transcript: Opinion by Arezki Daoud: 4 June 2020: Just like Algeria has been doing, Morocco is spending the money it does not have to procure more military equipment it will never use and without major security logic. The country is facing a collapsed economy due to...
Libya: Warlord Khalifa Haftar loses Tripoli International Airport
Tripoli, June 3, 2020 - Forces backing Libya's unity government said Wednesday they had reseized the capital's Tripoli International Airport, held since 2019 by rival forces backing Khalifa Haftar, in the latest in a string of defeats for the eastern-based military...
Libya: French warship intercepts oil tanker off the coast of Libya
United Nations, United States, June 3, 2020 - Europe tried to reassure Russia during a UN Security Conference video call Tuesday after a French warship intercepted an oil tanker off the coast of Libya under an operation to halt the flow of arms to the North African...
Egypt kills more people in Sinai alleged to be insurgents
Egypt's military said it had killed 19 militants in targeted ground and air operations as part of its battle to quell a long-running Islamist insurgency in north Sinai. Five soldiers were killed or wounded in the operations last week, according to the online video...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Tunisia’s Crises
Tunisia is facing a multi-faceted crisis, top of which is the ongoing unemployment protests that highlight the weakening of the Tunisian economic system and the eroding social safety nets. MEA Risk data for the period of February 01, 2016 to February 07, 2016, shows...
As Terror Becomes Part of the “New Normal” in Tunisia, Business Learns to Cope with the Terror Risk
The recent terror attacks on two hotels in Sousse and in the Bardo Museum in Tunis had a direct negative impact on the critically important tourism industry. Bookings were canceled, so did the flights that linked Tunisia to Europe, affecting thousands of jobs amid...
Mali: At least 30 dead in Radisson Hotel attack in Bamako
Dozens of hostages, exceeding 170 were held by gunmen in a Radisson Hotel in Bamako, Mali today. The hotel is used by foreign guests, including foreign airline staffers and UN workers. An interior ministry spokesman reported that the gunmen, possibly up to six, were...
Metrojet crash in the Sinai is likely to worsen Egyptian economy
MEA Risk LLC released a research note following the UK government's ordering a suspension of flights to the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, as a result of what it believed to be a strong likelihood of a bomb that downed the Russian airplane. Metrojet Flight 9268,...
Maghreb Security: Easing of Tension vs. Ramadan, but Instability Remains Dangerously High
MEA Risk tracking firm says a return to a certain level of normalcy in the Maghreb region has been taking place ever since the end of Ramadan back in July. Yet the concept of normalcy and a reduction in the stress level compared to the period of Ramadan do not mean...
Tunisia Ups Security Actions to Prevent Terrorism
The past week has been very busy for the Tunisian security authorities. The recent killing of tourists in Sousse, mostly British, has raised global concern over Tunisia’s ability to secure public sites. So much so that Britain has added to Tunisia’s woes by urging its...
IS Looking to Widen North Africa Operations, says MEA Risk
There are a lot of chatters and pronouncements in various places about the Islamic State organization (Daesh) seeking to expand its presence and intensify its operations in North Africa, according to MEA Risk. Tunisia and Morocco are particularly mentioned in those...
Bloodiest Day in Algeria in Almost 15 Years
The province of Ghardaia, in central Algeria has been the scene over the past few days of intercommunal clashes that are pitting two ethnic groups. MEA Risk trackers on the ground report that pitched battles between members of the Maliki and Mozabite tribes have...
European Military Advisors to Train Tunisian Army against Islamic State
Military sources in Tunisia say the United Kingdom is preparing to dispatch some 50 Special Forces instructors to help the Tunisians confront the Islamic State insurgents. The UK is said to be responding to pleas from the Tunisian government, which has been asking...
Terror in Tunisia and the Gloomy Outlook
The attacks recently perpetrated against two hotels in Sousse confirm that Tunisia is now in a permanent state of war, and the future looks rather gloomy. The war being waged against Tunisia is not just specific to that country, as if it were a civil war, but it is...