First Independent Mena Newspaper
Since the launch of the G5 counter-terrorism task force by Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad, Algeria has shown little if no support for the initiative, which it deems as a move by France to boost influence in what Algiers would love to become its backyard. Algeria’s stand against collective regional security efforts stands […]
Sahel countries have convened a security meeting on March 16 to which Algeria was unsurprisingly not invited. Analysts see that in sidelining Algeria, Sahel countries are expressing exasperation with Algeria’s ambivalence to fight terrorism in the region. Some go as far as saying that Algeria is responsible for the surge of terrorism in the region […]
The surge of terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda offshoots in the Sahel, Yemen, Libya and Afghanistan point to a frightening reality of a global terrorist group that has been dormant since the rise of ISIS in the Middle East. An alliance of terrorist groups loyal to Al Qaida hit Ouagadougou recently killing at least 8 […]
The decision by Mauritanian authorities to seal off borders with Algeria as a military zone forbidden to civilians is the tree that hides the forest. The closing of the borders signals cracks in the Algerian-Mauritanian short-lived alliance. As Mauritania tilts towards its Sahel neighbors in their efforts to counter the terrorism scourge, it takes steps […]
Mauritanian authorities declared the borders with Algeria and Mali a military zone strictly forbidden to civilians amid the proliferation of terrorist groups that engage in all kinds of criminal activities including kidnappings and all sorts of trafficking. The decision was announced by Mauritania’s defense minister on official media warning with a serious tone that “any […]
The UN Security Council unanimously welcomed in a resolution the deployment of a military force by West African states to combat terrorism and arms, drug and human trafficking in the Sahel region after France and the US reached a consensus on the issue. To secure the support of the US, France softened the resolution language […]
The US has expressed reservations over the French move to garner support at the UN Security council for the adoption of a resolution mandating a force by West African states to combat terrorism and trafficking in the Sahel. The US voiced its concerns regarding the UN financial backing for the Sahel force after France has […]
The struggle against terrorism is a challenge that faces the whole Sahel-Sahara region and beyond and the countries concerned are all aware of the need to enhance their cooperation, coordinate their efforts and share their experience to upgrade their individual and collective capacity to face the phenomenon. It is in this context that Morocco hosted […]