I’ve never been to Tin Zaouatine in Algeria’s deep south, where a young man was recently killed by Algerian security services. I suspect that most Algerians haven’t been there either. However, what happens in Algeria’s south matters, not just for the south, but for the rest of the country as well.
Man alive. Droukdel is dead. For NARCO, this closes a long chapter. I still remember the day that Abdelmalek Droukdel took over the GSPC in Algeria in 2004.I had no idea back then that I would reckon with Droukdel for another 16 years...
After more than 14 months, Field Marshall General Khalifa Haftar, the head of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) has finally abandoned his offensive to capture Tripoli from forces allied with the Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Fayez Serraj.
Doing Algeria analysis is always meta. It’s analysis about analysis. Algeria analysis is rarely about a thing itself because it is so tricky to figure out what that thing might actually be. Algerian affairs are boggy and it’s hard to find your footing.
First, a big Ramadan Karim to everyone who is observing the Holy Month in these difficult times. Second, the NARCO RoundUp is a little late this month due to having to catch up on 7th grade math and 4th grade vocabulary. The RoundUp returns to its standard three-country format this month.
Everyone already knows a lot about Algeria. Everyone knows that Algeria has had a challenging 12 months, having undergone a contested political transition.Everyone knows that Algeria is facing an economic crisis, now exacerbated by an unprecedented collapse in crude prices and the coronavirus pandemic.
The March NARCO RoundUp departs from the standard format and is dedicated entirely to looking at how the novel coronavirus pandemic impacts Maghreb countries. Spoiler alert: badly (but to varying degrees of bad.)
Of all the years to have an extra day it had to be 2020. Algeria’s Hirak marked its first anniversary. It’s still going strong, but it’s not clear where it’s going. Libya is war, war, and more war. And Mauritania is moving definitively into a new(er) political era.
Pressure is mounting on former Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz and his network of associates in the commercial sector. After nearly a decade getting richer and richer, time’s drawing nigh to pay the piper.
Yet again Algeria’s state-owned energy mastodon has a new CEO. The 11th in 10 years for everyone keeping count. On 5 February, Kamel Eddine Chikhi, in the chair since November 2019, was replaced by Toufik Hakkar.
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