North Africa

The United Nations Libya mission condemned a shelling attack on Thursday that it said killed four girls and young women hours after international pleas for a humanitarian pause to help with the fight against the coronavirus. It said in a tweet that the four, aged 14 to 20, as well …

Tunisian police used tear gas to disperse dozens of youths at a traditional ram fight on Tuesday because it broke coronavirus rules against crowds, the local Mosaique FM radio reported. Ram fighting is a popular pastime in North Africa and the strongest animals with the most beautiful horns are highly …

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI ordered the creation of a 10 billion dirham ($1 billion) fund to upgrade health infrastructure and help vulnerable economic sectors in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the royal cabinet said on Sunday. The fund will help acquire the necessary health equipment and assist sectors such …

Tunisia is studying hedging fuel purchases after the sharp drop in oil prices following the coronavirus crisis, in order to reduce its energy deficit, the finance minister said on Tuesday. Nizar Yaich added that Tunisia would benefit from lower prices. The clash of oil titans Saudi Arabia and Russia sparked …

Algeria’s government has canceled political gatherings because of the coronavirus, it said on Tuesday, though it was not immediately clear if this would entail a ban on the mass protests that have convulsed the state for more than a year. Health Minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid said in comments broadcast on state …

Plunging oil prices have increased the urgency for Algeria to reform its economy, politicians and business leaders said on Monday. Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab said the country had been in “permanent consultations” with other oil producers after the collapse on Friday of an OPEC+ supply deal, which led Saudi Arabia …

Khalifa Haftar, Libya’s eastern military commander, told France’s president that he would sign a ceasefire and keep to it if militias backed by the internationally-recognized government respected it, a French presidency source said on Monday. “Marshal Haftar assured (us) that he was committed to signing the ceasefire but this commitment …

At least one militant on a motorbike blew himself up outside the U.S. embassy in Tunisia on Friday, wounding police officers, witnesses said, in the country’s most serious attack in months. The explosion took place near the embassy’s main gate, where a Reuters journalist saw a scorched, damaged motorbike and …

It is “not on the agenda” to ban public protests in Algeria over the coronavirus, a health ministry official told a news conference on Wednesday after the country announced its first confirmed case of the disease. Mass protests have been taking place in the capital Algiers and other cities twice …

The United Nations has received conditions from tribesmen allied to eastern forces to lift a blockade of eastern oil export ports, its Libya envoy said on Tuesday. “The tribesmen have sent me their conditions but I have to say that these conditions are quite general and they will be dealt …

Violations of an arms embargo in Libya have become a joke and it is imperative that those who breach it are held to account, a senior U.N. official said on Sunday. “The arms embargo has become a become a joke, we all really need to step up here,” U.N. Deputy …

Eastern Libya forces will not allow the United Nations to use the only functioning airport in the capital Tripoli, a spokesman for the group that has been trying to capture the city from the internationally recognized government said on Wednesday. The U.N. earlier warned flight restrictions by commander Khalifa Haftar’s …

Algeria’s public debt rose to 45% of gross domestic product at the end of last year from a level of 26% in 2017, and the country’s economic situation is “delicate”, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad said on Tuesday. Addressing lawmakers, Djerad blamed mismanagement and corruption during the past years for worsening …

Artillery shells on Tuesday hit the center of the Libyan capital, which eastern forces have been trying to take in a near year-long war, residents said. The Libyan National army (LNA) faction of Khalifa Haftar moved on Tripoli held by the internationally recognized government in April, failing to breach defense …

An OPEC, non-OPEC technical panel has recommended extending a current oil supply cut pact until the end of 2020 and more output reductions due to the impact of the coronavirus on oil demand, Algeria’s oil minister said in a statement. Mohamed Arkab, who currently holds the presidency of the Organization …

Libya’s warring parties will continue talks this month to try to reach a lasting ceasefire in a war for control of the capital Tripoli, the United Nations said on Saturday, after a first round in Geneva last week failed to yield an agreement. The U.N. hosted indirect talks between five …

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Thursday pardoned more than 6,000 prisoners, extending a process of clemency that has outdone in scale similar conciliatory gestures by his predecessors. Tebboune, elected in December in a vote rejected by a mass protest movement seeking the total replacement of the ruling elite, is trying …

President Kais Saied of Tunisia, an ally of the United States, said on Thursday that the new U.S. plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians is the “injustice of the century”. Tunisia is serving a two-year term on the United Nations Security Council and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will …

U.S. President Donald Trump discussed developments in Syria and Libya in a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, a White House spokesman said on Twitter. “The two leaders discussed the need to eliminate foreign interference and maintain the ceasefire in Libya. The leaders agreed that the violence …

Eastern Libya’s military commander Khalifa Haftar on Sunday sought to open a new front by moving forces towards the city of Misrata, which is allied to the internationally recognized government, officials and residents said. The pick-up in fighting erodes a shaky truce and comes a day after the United Nations …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that eastern Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar could not be expected to respect a ceasefire called between his forces and pro-government troops in Libya. Commenting on reported violations of the truce, Erdogan said: “It is not possible to expect mercy and understanding from …

A summit in Germany bringing together foreign powers backing rival camps in Libya has called for all parties to refrain from hostilities against oil facilities, a draft of the final communiques showed on Sunday. The draft also recognizes Tripoli-based state oil company NOC as the sole legitimate entity allowed to …

Oil exports from eastern and central Libyan oil ports will be shut from Saturday resulting in the loss of 700,000 barrels a day, a source at state oil firm NOC said on Friday. The closure of the ports with the exception of the Zueitina port had been ordered by the …

Greece encouraged Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar to be constructive at an upcoming conference in Berlin to try end the war over Tripoli, its foreign minister said on Friday after meeting the commander in Athens. “We encouraged the commander to take part with a constructive spirit in Berlin’s procedure and …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed developments in Libya in a phone call, Turkey’s presidency said on Wednesday, days ahead of a summit in Berlin which will address the Libyan conflict. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host leaders of Turkey, Russia, Britain and Italy on Sunday …

Turkey will not refrain from “teaching a lesson” to Khalifa Haftar if his eastern Libyan forces continue attacks against the internationally recognized government in Tripoli, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday. Turkey and Russia failed to convince Haftar on Monday to sign a binding truce to halt his nine-month campaign …

Libya’s warring leaders held indirect peace talks in Moscow on Monday with Russia and Turkey urging the rivals to sign a binding truce to end a nine-month-old war and pave the way for a settlement that would stabilize the North African country. The Russo-Turkish push, which appeared to involve laborious …

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed on Monday a ceasefire in Libya initiated by Turkey and Russia, but cautioned that the United Nations must lead the process of rebuilding the country. “A ceasefire, yes it is a first step in the right direction, but what you need is …

Libyan eastern forces loyal to commander Khalifa Haftar announced on Saturday a ceasefire in the western region, which includes the capital Tripoli, starting 00:01 a.m. on Sunday (22:01 GMT) and the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) agreed to the truce. Since April, Libyan National Army forces loyal to …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Libyan peace talks will be held in Berlin, as Turkey and Russia appealed to the north African nation’s warring factions to enter a ceasefire. “We hope that the joint efforts by Russia and Turkey will lead to success, and we will soon send out invitations …

Turkey plans to sign by February a preliminary $2.7 billion compensation deal for work carried out in Libya before the 2011 civil war, a sector official said, seeking to revive stalled Turkish business operations in the conflict-ridden country. Turkish businesses have long been active in Libya but their projects were …

Turkey and Russia urged Libya’s warring parties on Wednesday to declare a ceasefire on Sunday as warring factions clashed and carried out air strikes in a conflict drawing increasing foreign involvement and concern. Turkey backs Fayez al-Serraj’s Tripoli-based, internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and has said it will …

East Libya-based forces said they carried out air strikes on Wednesday on a coastal road west of Sirte, a day after nine of their men were killed in a strike by rivals. The Libyan National Army (LNA) took control of Sirte, a strategically important city in the center of Libya’s …

Libya’s parliament has voted against a deal that would see Turkey deploy troops in the North African country. The assembly accused Libya’s official head of government, Fayez Serraj, of “treason.” Libya’s eastern-based parliament on Saturday rejected an agreement that would allow Ankara to send troops to Libya. The Libyan House of …

Saudi Arabia condemns “the recent Turkish escalation in Libya” and the Turkish parliament’s approval of a troop deployment to Libya, and considers it a violation of U.N. Security Council decisions, the foreign ministry said in a statement on the state news agency SPA. The statement added that “the kingdom affirms …

Egypt strongly condemned on Thursday a vote by Turkey’s parliament vote to allow a troop deployment to Libya, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Egypt said any such deployment could “negatively affect the stability of the Mediterranean region” and called on the international community to urgently respond to the …

Just 11 days after Abdelmadjid Tebboune was elected president of a deeply polarised Algeria, the country’s powerful military chief Lt Gen Ahmed Gaid Salah died of a heart attack. This unexpected development has prompted questions about the future of Algeria’s political system; it is obviously too soon to tell if …

Exxon Mobil Corp said on Monday it acquired 1.7 million acres for exploration offshore Egypt, with operations scheduled to begin in 2020. The acquisition includes acreage in the 1.2 million North Marakia Offshore block located about five miles offshore Egypt’s northern coast and 543,000 acres in the North East El …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed efforts to reach a diplomatic solution for the Libyan conflict in separate phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, whose government intends to send troops to Libya, a government spokesman said on Monday. Turkey’s foreign minister has warned that the …

Turkey’s foreign minister warned that the Libyan conflict risks sliding into chaos and becoming the next Syria, as he sought to speed up legislation to allow it to send troops to the North African country. Libya’s internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli has been struggling to fend …

Algeria’s president Abdelmadjid Tebboune named Abdelaziz Djerad as the country’s new prime minister on Saturday, state TV reported. Djerad is a former diplomat who teaches political science at the University of Algiers. Source: Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte agreed on Thursday that the situation in Libya must be resolved in a peaceful way, the Kremlin said. In a phone call, Putin and Conte also discussed Syria and the results of the Normandy summit on Ukraine, the Kremlin said …

Libya’s internationally recognized government has formally requested from Turkey “air, ground and sea” military support to fend off an offensive of eastern forces to take the capital Tripoli, a Tripoli official said on Thursday. Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said earlier his country will send troops to Libya at the request …

Turkey will send troops to Libya at the request of Tripoli as soon as next month, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday, putting the north African country’s conflict at the center of wider regional frictions. Libya’s internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) has been fending off a months-long offensive …