Anti-personnel mines are back in Europe

To mark Poland’s official withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention or the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty, Julia Głębocka, Human rights researcher for Amnesty International Poland, reflects on what the return of these indiscriminate weapons means for human rights in Europe. Not Read More …

Trump signs travel ban on nationals from 12 countries, restrictions on 7 more

President Trump on Wednesday signed a proclamation barring travelers and immigrants from a dozen countries and restricting the entry of nationals of another seven nations, citing concerns about national security. Mr. Trump’s proclamation fully bans the entry of foreigners from Read More …

Lake Chad: Under the radar, women traffic IED parts to Boko Haram

In February last year, two women were arrested in Kolofata, Cameroon, near the Nigerian border, for carrying tiny amounts of ammonium nitrate fertiliser. Kolofata’s gendarmerie brigade commander Ntsie Virgile, who told ENACT about this incident, said the women were arrested Read More …

Nigeria: Police arrest one suspect, recover IED in Kano

The Kano State Police Command has arrested one suspect and recovered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in connection with a suspected terrorist plot to attack the state. The mastermind of the plot, however, fled to neighboring Cameroon. Commissioner of Police Read More …

Chad terminates military cooperation agreement with France

This announcement marks a historic turning point in relations between N’Djamena and Paris, which until now had been based on close cooperation in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel and the maintenance of regional stability. This partnership, although sometimes Read More …

China to strengthen mine clearance cooperation with African countries

China is willing to strengthen mine clearance cooperation with African countries and help Africa eliminate the threat of mines as soon as possible, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday. She noted that peace and security cooperation is an important Read More …

Emirati passports discovered in Sudan suggest UAE boots on the ground

According to the Guardian, a document sent to the UN Security Council and seen by the newspaper contains images allegedly found in Sudan and linked to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group that has been fighting the Sudanese Read More …

Chad: At least nine killed after ammunition depot fire triggers explosions

At least nine people have been killed and 46 injured after a fire triggered a series of blasts at a military ammunition depot in Chad’s capital N’Djamena. The fire began in N’Djamena’s Goudji district late on Tuesday and there had Read More …

UNOCT supports the Sahel countries in countering terrorist use of IEDs, UAS and SALW

The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), held a three-day regional workshop for the Sahel in Rabat, Morocco from 27 to 29 February 2024. Organized within the framework of the project on “Building Read More …

Managing exits from violent extremist groups: lessons from the Lake Chad Basin

Some Lake Chad Basin countries (Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria) have been dealing with violent extremism for over a decade. Disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, reintegration and resettlement processes in these countries may offer useful lessons for other West African contexts, including Read More …

Addressing mine ban treaty challenges: New contamination and compliance

The annual Intersessional Meetings of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpile, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (aka Ottawa Convention, AP Mine Ban Convention, or Mine Ban Treaty) closed on 21 June in Read More …

Trafficking in the Sahel: Guns, gas, and gold

In the first of a series of features exploring the fight against trafficking in the Sahel, UN News takes a closer look at what’s behind the growth of the phenomenon. A tangled trafficking web has been woven across the Sahel, Read More …

U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal Soldiers deploy to Tunisia for African Lion

BIZERTE, Tunisia – U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians recently deployed to Tunisia for Exercise African Lion in support of the Southern European Task Force-Africa. Soldiers from the Fort Drum, New York-based 754th Ordnance Company (EOD) participated in U.S. Africa Read More …

ISIL 2.0: How the group became a franchise

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or ISIS) has changed form several times over the years. With its origins in the aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, ISIL was forged from an alliance between Read More …

Sahel Conflict Set to Worsen in 2022 – Analysts

Islamist militant attacks increased this past year in the Sahel region, leading to political instability that saw a coup in Mali, an attempted coup in Niger, and calls for Burkina Faso’s president to resign. Burkina Faso experienced the deadliest terrorist Read More …

UAE begins first flights to support counter-terrorism operations in the Sahel

The UAE has launched “logistical support flights” as part of French-led counter-terror operations in the African Sahel. The first flight took off from Abu Dhabi watched by Maj. Gen. Saleh Mohammed Al-Ameri, commander of joint operations at the Ministry of Read More …

Pakistan: ‘Two militants involved in sectarian killings’ held by CTD

Sindh’s Counter-Terrorism Department on Tuesday claimed to have arrested two militants affiliated with a banned sectarian outfit. The CTD said the arrested men were involved in high profile targeted killings of religious scholars and were members of the proscribed Sipah-e-Muhammad’s Read More …