North Africa and the Sahel

The US is planning to open a consulate in Western Sahara. The consulate will be located in Dakhla, a fishing port located in southern Western Sahara, intended to become a “regional maritime hub” serving Africa and the Canary Islands through a large development project launched by Rabat. Last Saturday, the assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs, David Schenker, visited Western Sahara. He is considered to be the highest-ranking US diplomat for North Africa and the Middle East. 

ِThe UNOCHA says 10,600 people have been displaced following the attacks on two villages in Niger's Tillaberi region earlier this month. The Tillaberi region has been frequently targeted by terrorist groups based in Mali since 2017, with a state of emergency declared in the area. Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali in the Sahel are at the epicenter of one of the world's fastest-growing displacement and security crises.

Politics in Tunisia in the last decade has been dominated by the rivalry between An Nahda, a mainstream Islam inspired party, and secularists who oppose any interference of religion in the public space. Both seek to resist the Islamist threat, although their approach is different. In the meantime the threat from extremists continues.

On Wednesday, the two parties to the Libyan conflict continued the process of releasing and exchanging prisoners who were arrested during the military operations between the Libyan army and the government of national accord.

France will reconsider its military strategy in the Sahel and will likely reduce the number of troops deployed as part of Operation Barkhane after significant military successes in 2020, the country's defence minister said.

It was one of the deadliest days in Niger's living memory, as the country grapples with ethnic violence and Islamic militancy. According to local mayor Almou Hassane, those responsible travelled on "about 100 motorcycles". In seperate incidents five French soldiers were killed last week in neighbouring Mali

The region has effectively been split by an earthen wall separating an area controlled by Morocco that it claims as its southern provinces, and territory controlled by the Polisario with a U.N.-mandated buffer zone between them.

“It is clear to the public what these groups have done in distorting some texts, cutting them out of their context, and using them to achieve personal goals or interests and corrupting the land,” al-Azhar said in a fatwa. “Membership in these extremist groups is considered forbidden by Shariah.”