North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Morocco Busts ‘Lions of the Caliphate’ Terror Cell After Yearlong Probe
Moroccan security services arrested 12 operatives of the so-called “Lions of the Caliphate in the Maghreb Al-Aqsa” after a yearlong investigation. Authorities say the terror cell, linked to Daesh in the Sahel, had a weapons cache in Errachidia and planned attacks in Morocco.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
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...
Niger: Refugee camp in the Tahoua attacked, three killed
Jihadists carried out a coordinated attack on a camp housing thousands of Malian refugees in western Niger, killing three civilians, abducting a guard and sabotaging the water supply, the United Nations said Monday. Around 50 jihadists launched a "well-planned...
Egyptian army keeps busy killing “insurgents” in North Sinai
Egypt said Saturday (23 May) that 21 jihadists were killed in clashes with security forces in the restive Sinai peninsula, where Islamic State group-affiliated militants have waged a long-running insurgency. The interior ministry said in a statement that police...
Libya: Russia may be escalating conflict in Libya with more support for warlord Haftar
Berlin, May 26, 2020 - Russia recently sent fighter jets to Libya to support Russian mercenaries fighting for strongman Khalifa Haftar, the US military command for Africa (Africom) said Tuesday, in a major escalation in the long-running conflict. The military fighter...
Egypt arrests 11 for allegedly sharing ‘fake news’ with Al-Jazeera
Cairo, May 22, 2020 - Egyptian security forces arrested 11 people on suspicion of fabricating media content for the Qatar-based Al Jazeera network, the interior ministry said Friday. The suspects were allegedly found to be collaborating with members of the outlawed...
Outlook: Can the country of Togo be a Jihadi hotspot?
Dapaong, Togo, May 21, 2020 (By Célia Lebur) - In a makeshift bunker of sacks of rice beneath a tree, heavily-armed Togolese soldiers keep watch over villagers coming and going on foot or bike across the border with Burkina Faso. Just a dried-out river bed separates...
How the image of the United Arab Emirates in the Maghreb is taking a beating ($)
The United Arab Emirates has made no effort to fix its image abroad, as its involvement in crisis regions has been cemented by the UAE's leaders need to project some kind of strength in the Middle East and Africa. In North Africa's Maghreb region, the UAE's image has...
Niger: Insurgents attack Blabrine base near Diffa town
Niamey, May 19, 2020 - Twelve soldiers have been killed in a Boko Haram attack on a military outpost in Niger's Diffa region, scene of recent clashes with jihadist fighters, the defence ministry said Tuesday. The attack by "Boko Haram terrorists" overnight Monday on...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
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...
38 killed in attack on two tourist hotels in Sousse, Tunisia
Two armed men attacked two tourist hotels in the eastern city of Sousse, killing at least 38 Tunisians and foreign nationals and wounding 36 other people, according to the Ministry of Interior. The victims appear to be mostly British. While one of the attackers...