Algeria’s Regime Under Threat
MEES, 8 March 2019 Hundreds of thousands of Algerians have taken to the streets to demand an end to the 20-year presidency of Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Just five weeks remain before planned presidential elections on 18 April, at which the 82-year-old Bouteflika is running for a controversial fifth term. There have been protests against the regime [...]
Gulf Loses Patience With Sudan
As protests against the 30-year regime of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir enter a third month the reluctance of traditional Gulf allies to provide financial backing leaves him increasingly isolated. MEES, 22 February 2019 More than two months since protests began on 19 December against an increase in the price of bread and other basic commodities, [...]
Libya: Fractured Institutions Fail To Distribute Oil Revenue Gains
MEES, 24 August 2018 Libya’s oil production recovered to more than 1mn b/d in mid-August following a collapse to just 400,000 b/d early in July. The reopening of key export terminals in the east of the country has enabled a resumption of production from oil fields in the Sirte basin ( MEES, 13 July ). [...]
Libya Election Timetable To Slip Further Amid Factional Divisions
MEES, 27 July 2018 Libya’s parliament, the House of Representatives (HOR) is poised to vote on the terms of a planned referendum on constitutional changes, with a timetable in place for elections by the end of the year. But after another round of damaging politicking in recent weeks, there is little chance that the plans [...]
Wau displaced tell of death and horrifying escapes
UN warns of ethnic cleansing under way in South Sudan, survivors recount how they escaped as violence erupted in Wau. Al Jazeera, 21 December 2016 Wau, South Sudan - Looting, killing, beatings and sexual assault were the hallmarks of ethnically motivated attacks against civilians by South Sudanese government forces in the town of Wau earlier this [...]
No Winners In Yemen As Untenable War Drags On
MEES, 28 October 2016 War in Yemen is becoming increasingly intolerable for almost all the players involved, but still there is no sign of a negotiated way out of the conflict, making a de facto partition of the country a possibility. The current phase of a long-running war in Yemen has endured since September 2015 [...]
North Africa Security Special Report: Too Late To Roll Back Islamic State?
MEES, 18 September 2015 The growing presence of terrorist movements across North Africa, particularly in Libya, threatens to destabilize the whole region. Even in the best case scenario, involving a peace deal in Libya, there is no prospect of an end to the threat posed by Islamic State. Overseas investment in the region will continue to [...]
South Sudan: Deal or no deal?
Warring parties have signed a peace agreement in South Sudan that paves the way for a transitional government. But key differences between the signatories means there is still no guarantee of a halt in fighting. Blog, 4 September 2015 On 26 August, South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, added his signature to a peace agreement signed [...]
MENA Countries Hike Defense Spending For 2013
MEES, 18 April 2014 MENA military spending has more than doubled since 2004, rising 4% to $150bn for 2013, according to a report released this week by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Saudi Arabia was the world’s fourth biggest spender, and the highest in the region in 2013, spending an estimated $67bn on [...]
Algeria opens new territory to oil drilling
Energy companies remain wary, though, after deadly 2013 attack on natural gas facility Al Jazeera – 28 January 2014 One year ago, a terrorist attack on a natural gas facility in southern Algeria led to the deaths of 67 people after Algerian troops tried to rescue hundreds of hostages taken by an al-Qaeda-linked group. Now, [...]
Business and Terrorism in Algeria
The Atlantic Council – 24 January 2014 A year after forty workers were killed in a terrorist attack against one of Algeria’s largest gas facilities on January 16, 2013, serious reservations remain about the provision of security at the site. The government’s partners on the project, the UK’s BP and Norway’s Statoil, have not yet [...]
South Sudan plays dangerous game of politics with Khartoum
African Energy – 16 January 2014 Reports that both the government of South Sudan and nominal opposition leader Riek Machar have been in talks with Khartoum over securing control of South Sudan’s oilfields have roused fears that the already bloody fight could escalate further. Speaking at Juba airport on 6 January at the conclusion of [...]
Foreign oil and gas workers in Algeria – not yet back at work
The Economist – 15 January 2014 A YEAR has passed since a terrorist attack against one of Algeria’s largest natural gas facilities resulted in the deaths of 39 foreign workers. Yet the Algerian government has yet to convince international oil companies that it is safe enough for overseas staff to return to the site at [...]
How Algeria’s hostage crisis unfolded
31 January 2013 BBC Radio 4 Last week I contributed to the early stages of the research for a BBC Radio 4 programme that aired last night on the terrorist attacks on the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria two weeks ago that left at least 48 hostages dead. It’s well worth a listen. The [...]
Algerian government seeks to salvage energy trade after attack
The Independent – 26 January 2013 Until a few days ago, workers at the In Amenas gas plant in the Algerian Sahara lived a simple, if confined life. Working 12-hour shifts and seven-day weeks offered little opportunity for leisure. But when there was down time, workers had at their disposal state-of-the art training and sports [...]
Why we shouldn’t use Iran’s human rights record as an excuse for war
26 March 2012 Iran’s record on human rights is dreadful, but we must not allow it to become an excuse for war. Last week I had the privilege of hearing at first hand the findings of the UN’s top representative on human rights in Iran. Ahmed Shaheed, the UN’s ‘Special Rapporteur’, had submitted his first [...]
Israel continues to champion pre-emptive attack on Iran
A pre-emptive strike against Iran would be justifiable in the case of an imminent threat of attack, according to a senior Israeli diplomat speaking in London on 16 March. “Iran represents an existential threat to the state of Israel and we will not compromise on our national security,” said Ran Gidor, minister-counsellor for political affairs [...]
Why the two-state solution is not dead – yet
Speaking at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies on 14th March, Gershon Baskin argued that the solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict is just waiting to be implemented. But fundamental problems with the peace process itself mean that hopes are still at a low ebb. It is easy to understand why people may have given [...]
Options limited against Al-Assad
Despite the international outcry against the Syrian regime, the lack of a clear course of effective action means Bashar al-Assad is likely to battle out the challenges to his leadership in the short term Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad is cutting an increasingly isolated figure. International demands for an end to armed attacks on protesters that [...]
Algeria is no stranger to uprisings
Although the protests of recent weeks fall short of a revolution, dissatisfaction is mounting in Algeria and will not abate without concrete solutions As regimes have collapsed around it in recent weeks, to say that Algeria has been an island of tranquillity would be an exaggeration. The food riots that broke out across North Africa [...]