Latest Articles about North Africa
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
The Libyan Oil Crisis: Social Fragmentation in an Unstable State
In early March, the North-Korean flagged tanker MT Morning Glory reached the eastern port of Es-Sider, one of the three oil ports seized by Ibrahim al-Jadhran’s Cyrenaica Defense Forces. [1] Jadhran’s forces tried to sell oil independently of Tripoli’s control, something that they had threatened... MORE
Tunisian Extremists Expand Beyond Their Bases in Jebel Chaambi
2013 marked the return of terrorism to Tunisia. Since the middle of the year, terrorist incidents have occurred with greater frequency and now pose an alarming threat to the safety of Tunisia. During the first half of 2013, the Tunisian security forces were the target... MORE
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Attacks Morocco’s “Kingdom of Corruption and Despotism”
Al-Andalus, the media branch of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), released a rather sophisticated and detailed video on Morocco titled “Le royaume de la corruption et du despotisme" (The kingdom of corruption and despotism) on September 12. [1] The video mixed a series of... MORE
In His Own Words: The Untold Story of Boko Haram Founder Muhammad Yusuf
The designation of Boko Haram and its splinter faction Ansaru as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) in November 2013 came just over 50 months after Boko Haram’s transformation into a jihadist group. At the time of its founding in 2002 under Muhammad Yusuf, Boko Haram was... MORE