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
Russia’s first African military base in a highly unstable nation
By Arezki Daoud: Since Russia started its war on Ukraine, we have been told that Moscow was headed towards disaster. Echoing the views of Western governments, think-tanks and their analysts, many media outlets told us that Russia will not have the stamina to withstand...
Mali junta ends Algiers Agreement
The ruling junta in Mali announced, on Thursday 25 January, the "end, with immediate effect", of the Algiers agreement signed in 2015 with the pro-autonomy and independence groups based in the north of the country. Long considered essential for stabilizing the...
22 Islamist militant suspects arrested in Tunisia ($)
Defense: Morocco orders armored vehicles from Turkey ($)
Russia-Africa: From weapon sales to economic ties
By Arezki Daoud: Has the war in Ukraine deter Russia from engagement in Africa? Certainly not! We know on the security front, a growing number of African states are turning to Russia to supply them with military equipment and security services, judging by the...
Sahel: Russia to experience boost of its influence in the Sahel
By Arezki Daoud: Russia’s influence in the Sahel is about to expand further with more cooperation deals announced by Niger and Russia during the ongoing visit to Moscow of Niger’s Prime Minister and other senior officials. Speaking to Russian media, Niger’s Defense...
Egypt: One killed, six arrested in gun battle on Egypt-Israel border
A gunfire broke out near Nitzana, Israel, along the border crossing separating Egypt and Israel. The incident, which involved more than a dozen people, resulted in the death of one person. Six people were arrested. The Egyptian authorities insist that the incident was...
Egypt’s economy hit hard by Houthis’ attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea
The US and the UK hitting Houthi targets in Yemen is largely the result of a sense of panic taking place in commercial and business circles. The Houthis have clearly identified that there is a choke point that they can squeeze even more to get their positions heard....
Burkina Faso government says year-end army offensive killed hundreds of “terrorists” ($)
In a year-end offensive carried out by the Burkina Faso military from December 23, 2023 to January 2, 2024 in the East and Center-East regions, involving air and land assets, allegedly claimed the lives of 360 suspected terrorists. Authorities say terror chief Oumarou...
Sahel: Mali acquires lethal drones from Turkey
On January 4, 2024, the Malian military acquired six Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones. The military authorities say the drones will be used to “surveil the national territory, detect suspicious targets, track them and strike them, if necessary, with surgical precision.” ...
INSURGENCIES & TERRORISM
Insurgencies: Boko Haram fighters pouring into Niger’s side of Lake Chad
Hundreds of Boko Haram jihadists have fled a forest enclave in northeast Nigeria, escaping air strikes by the military and floods from torrential rains to seek shelter on Niger's side of Lake Chad, sources told AFP. Northeast Nigeria is facing a 13-year armed...
Sahel: Jihadists ambush patrol in Oursi, Burkina Faso, kill eight troops
An attack on a military unit in Burkina Faso's jihadist-hit north has killed eight soldiers, the army said Wednesday. The unit "was ambushed" 11 kilometres (seven miles) from Oursi in Oudalan province in the Sahel region on Tuesday, the army said in a statement. "In...
Sahel: Senior Mali army officer admits defeat, calls for evacuation of part of the north
A well-known Malian commander has urged civilians to flee part of a northern region recently attacked by Islamic State jihadists, in a rare admission of the security problems facing locals. "There are no armed forces or any entity to guarantee the security of the...
Sahel: Burkina Faso defense chief fired as the destabilization of Burkina Faso continues
Burkina Faso junta chief Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who took power in a January coup, has sacked his defence minister and assumed the role himself after a series of jihadist attacks, according to decrees published Monday. The first decree, read on...
Sahel: Attack on army unit in Deou, Burkina Faso claims two troops and Jihadists
Two soldiers died and a dozen "terrorists" were killed on Monday during an attack against a military detachment in Burkina Faso's jihadist-hit north, the army said. The landlocked African state is in the grip of a seven-year-old insurgency that has claimed more than...
Sahel: Three UN peacekeepers hurt in blast near Timbuktu, Mali
Three United Nations peacekeepers were hurt Sunday when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device (IED) in northern Mali, the UN mission said on Twitter. The incident happened on a road between Ber and Timbuktu, MINUSMA said late Sunday, without identifying...
Sahel: Islamic State attackers kill dozens of civilians in northern Mali
Dozens of people died after jihadists affiliated with the Islamic State group mounted an attack on a village in northern Mali, a local elected official and the leader of an armed told AFP Friday. The raid was followed by intense fighting between them and other armed...
Sahel: Region of Talataye in Mali falls in the hands of Islamic State affiliate after bitter fight with Al Qaeda
Jihadists affiliated to the Islamic State group have seized a town in northern Mali after bitter fighting with local rebels and rival militants linked to Al-Qaeda, several sources said Wednesday. The insurgents on Tuesday took Talataye, a town 150 kilometres (90...
Sahel: Insurgency in northern Burkina Faso worsens
By Armel Baily At least 35 civilians were killed and 37 wounded Monday when an IED blast struck a convoy carrying supplies in Burkina Faso's jihadist-hit north, the governor of the Sahel region said. The landlocked African state is in the grip of a seven-year-old...
Tunisia: Clash in Mount Salloum near Algeria leaves three IS Jihadists dead
The Tunisian army said Friday it had killed three jihadists linked to the Islamic State group, during an operation in the country's west. The men, members of the "Soldiers of the Caliphate" group, were killed during a morning operation in the Mount Salloum area near...