Latest Articles about North Africa
Tunisia’s Most Wanted: A Profile of Lokman Abu Sakhr
After the successful revolution of 2011 that overthrew long-standing dictator Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia has gone through a complex transition period, whose end is still far from over. In this changing context, jihadist terrorism has increasingly become an issue for the Tunisian authorities. Although... MORE
Egypt, the UAE and Arab Military Intervention in Libya
A pair of recent airstrikes against Islamist-held targets in the Libyan capital of Tripoli have raised questions about Arab military intervention in Libya after reports emerged claiming the strikes were conducted by United Arab Emirates (UAE) aircraft using Egyptian airbases. The first strike, on August... MORE
Libya’s Ansar al-Shari’a Declares the Islamic Emirate of Benghazi
Only weeks after Sunni jihadists in Iraq declared the establishment of an Islamic caliphate covering parts of Syria and Iraq, Libya’s Ansar al-Shari’a movement has declared an Islamic emirate in eastern Libya after driving government forces and their allies from the city of Benghazi. The... MORE
Another look at General Khalifa Haftar: His Enemies and Allies in the Struggle for Libya
Over the past few months, General Khalifa Haftar has been one of the most important figures in the Libyan political landscape. He has recently launched a “bid” of sorts to assume a role as a strongman for Libya, showing the ability to boost consensus and... MORE
Algeria and Egypt Struggle with the Implications of Libya’s Political Chaos
The progressive deterioration of security within Libya represents a major concern for a number of regional actors, most notably Libya’s two powerful neighbors, Egypt and Algeria. Algeria has already directly experienced some of the destabilizing effects of the Libyan upheaval, with the terrorist attack on... MORE
A Divided Military Fuels Mali’s Political Crisis
Both short- and long-term prospects for renewed stability in Mali’s restive northern region took a heavy blow with the May collapse of the Forces armées du Mali (FAMA) in the face of Tuareg and Arab resistance in the northeastern Kidal region. The collapse reflected long-standing... MORE
Keeping It in the Family: A Profile of Jibril Ibrahim, Leader of Darfur’s Justice and Equality Movement
Recent reports of military operations carried out in South Sudan’s northern borderlands by Darfur’s ?arakat al-Adl wa’l-Musawah (Justice and Equality Movement – JEM) have reinforced the movement’s reputation for mobility and political prowess. Despite the loss of movement founder Khalil Ibrahim to an air attack... MORE
Operation Dignity: General Haftar’s Latest Battle May Decide Libya’s Future
General Khalifa Haftar, the self-declared leader of the Libyan National Army, announced the launch of Operation Karama (Dignity) on May 16 with the aim of cleansing Libya of “terrorism and extremism” (al-Arabiya, May 24). Haftar’s latest battle may have far-reaching consequences, with its success or... MORE
Tunisian Jihadists Establishing New Networks with Libyan Islamists
The Tunisian Salafist movement Ansar al-Shari’a in Tunisia (AST) was declared a terrorist organization by the government of Tunis in August 2013. Since then, it seems to have adopted concealment tactics, given the impossibility of operating openly. Meanwhile, Tunisian authorities have launched an unprecedented counter-terrorism... MORE
BRIEFS
ALGERIA FIGHTING A TWO-FRONT WAR WITH ISLAMIST MILITANTS Andrew McGregor The continuing break-up of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) into northern and southern factions under rival commanders Abd al-Malik Droukdel and Mokhtar Belmokhtar has presented Algerian authorities with the necessity of fighting a two-front... MORE