First Independent Mena Newspaper
Weak states, porous borders and trafficking activities turned the Sahel into a safe heaven for terrorist groups. The terrorist attack on April 14 in Timbuktu by an Al Qaeda offshoot, the Group for the Defense of Islam and the Muslims, came to represent the capacity of the terrorist group to generate and carry out bloody […]
The UN announced that it has revamped its Sahel strategy to better tackle the root causes of the crisis in a region beset by insecurity, climate change, poverty and extremism. “The Sahel is a priority for the Secretary-General and the entire United Nations system,” Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told a conference being held in Nouakchott, […]
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 […]
Despite spending billions of dollars to reinforce border security, Algeria remains incapable of securing its large desert borders where terrorist and trafficking networks are taking advantage of the porous and low-monitored borders, HS Jane’s Information Group said. The Group, specializing in security studies, noted that Algeria is unable to control its borders with Libya, Tunisia […]
Morocco is looking carefully to the situation in the Sahel where terrorists are increasingly resorting to organized crime and trafficking to fund their activities, head of Morocco’s counterterrorism agency, BCIJ, Abdelhak Khiame said. Speaking to local press, Khiame rang the alarm bell regarding the fallout of the connivance between terrorists and organized crime groups on […]
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 UK prepares to support French counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel region, through providing surveillance aircraft and helicopters, British government sources told different media outlets. Currently about 4,500 French troops are engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the Sahel where France has spearheaded efforts to create a joint-military force bringing together soldiers from five Sahel countries […]
Morocco has taken steadfast action against criminal networks operating in human trafficking thanks to a pro-active security approach that enabled the dismantling of 80 networks and foiling 50,000 illegal immigration attempts so far in 2017, said director of immigration at Morocco’s interior ministry, Khaled Zerouali. This brings the number of busted human trafficking cells […]
Africa has featured prominently in Morocco’s climate action. The recent remarks delivered by state secretary for sustainable development, Nezha El Ouafi, at the UN Climate Summit (COP23) in Bonn have yet affirmed that the continent remains at the heart of Morocco’s climate concerns. El Ouafi said that Morocco is building on the conclusions and recommendations […]
Morocco’s African leadership, the situation in North Africa and the Sahel as well as the longstanding American-Moroccan relations were at the heart of talks Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita had with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and other US officials during a visit to Washington Thursday. In a statement to the press, Bourita said […]