North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Franco-Algerian relations set to worsen over planned military maneuvers in Morocco
Algeria summoned the French Ambassador to protest the planned “Chergui 2025” Franco-Moroccan military exercises scheduled for September near the Algerian border. Tensions between the nations have escalated following France’s support for Morocco’s position on Western Sahara.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Algeria: Clash with insurgents in Ain Defla leaves one soldier dead
Algiers, June 21, 2020 - An Algerian soldier was killed during a clash with armed Islamists in the central region of Ain Defla, the defence ministry said Sunday, adding that an operation was still underway. An army detachment clashed with "an armed terrorist group",...
Defense: Debate in Algeria over sending troops abroad
By Abdellah Cheballah - Could Algeria soon send troops from its army, the pillar of the regime, to join peace-keeping missions led by the United Nations or African Union? President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has urged a constitutional change that would allow deployments...
Defense: Egypt to buy two warships from Italy
Rome, June 12, 2020 (By Ljubomir Milasin) - Italy has given a green light to the sale of two warships to Egypt, news media reported on Friday, despite tense relations between the two countries over the unresolved 2016 murder of an Italian student in Cairo. The $1.2...
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...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Bombing of Libya Looms as Neighboring States Seek to Seal the Borders and Build Refugee Towns
Fresh troop movements and unusual activity along the Algeria-Libya borders are clear indications of the potential for an imminent Western offensive in Libya, according to MEA Risk security trackers. The Algerian authorities, fearful for the consequences of a...
US Enters the Libyan Conflict, But Purpose of Attack Unclear
As predicted by the North Africa Journal’s sister company MEA Risk LLC, the Western intervention in Libya has started yesterday, as U.S. forces kicked off an air campaign in Sabratha, 40 miles west of Tripoli. Although earlier MEA Risk analysts predicted the target to...
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...