North Africa’s Security
Security | Defense | Terrorism
Niger: Armed Attacks Target Military Bases in Tahoua
Armed militants launched coordinated assaults on military facilities in Tahoua, a strategic city in northwestern Niger. The attacks targeted Air Base 401 at the local airport and the headquarters of the 42nd Inter‑Arms Battalion. Nigerien forces repelled both assaults after intense fighting, leaving several soldiers lightly wounded and multiple attackers dead, with five suspects arrested.
SECURITY & DEFENSE
Algeria boosts defense budget to tackle cross-border threats
Algeria’s draft Finance Law for the year 2025 earmarks record spending for its military and defense. The Ministry of Defense, which oversees the country’s armed forces, will receive more than US$25 billion, an increase of over 10% compared to 2024. The move is...
Libya’s fragmented military and competition for its control
While the world is focused on the crises in the Middle East and Ukraine, a power struggle continues to destabilize Libya, with protagonists competing for the control of the armed forces. Three factions are now at the center of an ongoing struggle over the fate of the...
Mali: Wagner and Junta leaders in tough spot with series of embarrassing defeats and decisions to make
(Photo from unconfirmed video showing an insurgent burning the presidential plane in Bamako. The person filming the attack speaks in Peul or Fulani language) By Arezki Daoud: This week’s attacks on the Malian capital of Bamako highlight the junta's difficulty in...
Mali: The Failing Campaign of Wagner in Mali Presages Trouble for the Junta in Bamako
There have been more chatter and speculations about the activities of Russia’s mercenaries, formerly known as the Wagner Group, now reportedly called the Afrika Corps in the Sahel. It is unclear if the name "Afrika Corps" is official, but if so, it certainly confirms...
Sahel: Wagner Lost Men in Tinzouatin, but Russia Sees Real ROI in the Sahel. It May Now Make a Move on Nigeria
Russia is seeing a good "return on its investment" in the Sahel. Both Mali and Niger have cut their ties with Ukraine after Kiev’s intelligence agency GUR said it was involved in the clash at the end of July that claimed the lives of dozens of Russian mercenaries and...
Sahel: Ukraine invites itself in the Sahel crisis
Ukraine has a good reason to sabotage Russia’s operations around the world. They are at war. And so it is no surprise that they both undermine each other wherever they are around the world. While the Ukrainians have been battling a Russian onslaught on their own...
Update: Dozens of Russian Militiamen Killed by Tuareg Rebels in Mali
Our colleagues of Mondafrique have released the following update. With its unmatched connections in the Sahel and West Africa, Mondafrique is one of the best sources of information on the region. Mondafrique: Fierce fighting that raged until Saturday at the...
Africa’s Defense Shifting from Western to Russian Influence
There are some 600 US troops left in Niger, whose withdrawal is set to no later than September 2024. Meanwhile the French are expected to continue to withdraw more of their troops from Africa, and we could see the Russians move in.
Niger: Rebel group attacks pipeline, warns Chinese contractor to stay clear
The Patriotic Front of Liberation (FPL), a rebel group based between northern Niger and southern Libya, claims to have destroyed a section of Niger’s pipeline, and issued threats against the Chinese firm managing the project.
Burkina Faso Junta Faces Governance Challenges Amid Controversies and Rumors
The military junta in Burkina Faso is not governing at ease. The country is struggling with repressive actions from the junta, with opposition figures, lawyers and activities feeling the brunt of the regime.
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Sahel: Jihadist violence intensifies in Burkina Faso
Attacks in Burkina Faso have increased since October and now especially target civilians, according to junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traore, who took power last year on a vow to quell jihadist violence. The extremists are switching tactics to focus on civilians, Traore...
Sahel: Jihadists in Burkina Faso also abduct children and babies
Investigators now believe that last week's raid by suspected jihadists in Burkina Faso led to the abduction of around 60 women, girls and babies, a regional prosecutor said Thursday. Earlier reports had suggested that around 50 women had been taken, said a statement...
Mali: Security agents remain targets of attacks in Mali, four killed in Segou
Four gendarmes were killed and three others injured on Sunday after being ambushed in western Mali, a region prone to jihadist attacks, the paramilitary police said. Two police vehicles were torched and two others, equipped with machine guns, were captured by the...
Tunisia: Nine women sentenced to prison for plotting to kill government minister
Tunisia has jailed nine members of an all-women "terrorist" gang accused of plotting to assassinate a government minister, media reported Thursday. In the North African nation's first known case of an all-woman jihadist group, two of the ringleaders were jailed for 25...
Sahel: Nine killed in mosque attack in Burkina Faso’s Sahel province
Nine people were killed when suspected jihadists attacked a mosque in northeastern Burkina Faso, local sources said Thursday. The attack happened at around nightfall on Wednesday in the village of Goulgountou in Burkina's Sahel region, when assailants arrived on...
Sahel: Troop toll from Mali jihadist clash rises to 14 dead, 31 “terrorists killed”
Fourteen Malian soldiers were killed in a clash with jihadists this week, the army said Thursday, giving a new toll in an attack claimed by an Al-Qaeda-linked group. Fighting erupted when an army unit was hit by roadside bombs between the towns of Mopti and Segou in...
Sahel: Several killed in army-Jihadists confrontation in central Mali
At least 12 soldiers died in clashes with jihadists in central Mali, army and police officers said on Wednesday. The fighting on Tuesday between the towns of Mopti and Segou also left seven jihadists dead, the army said overnight, giving an earlier toll of three...
Mali: Unidentified armed individuals kill five people on Bamako-Segou road
Two firefighters and three civilians were killed on Monday night in an attack in southeastern Mali, the ministry of security and civil protection said Tuesday. A sixth person was also wounded. At around 9:00 pm, the Civil Protection Road Rescue Post of Markacoungo, in...
Egypt: IS claims attack in Ismailia that killed three policemen
The Islamic State group said Saturday that it carried out a deadly attack on an Egyptian police checkpoint in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia the previous day. "A cell of soldiers of the caliphate managed to attack an Egyptian police roadblock... with a machine gun,"...
Egypt: Three policemen killed, others wounded in attack in Suez Canal city
Three Egyptian policemen were killed and four others, including a police officer, wounded Friday in an attack in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, security and medical sources said. Two cars approached a checkpoint in a residential neighbourhood of the city and two...