02/10/2020 -As the Syrian Observatory continues monitoring and tracking the issue of involving Turkish-backed Syrian mercenaries in Libyan war, reliable SOHR sources have confirmed that a new batch of some 800 fighters have returned from Libya to Syria, after completing the duration of their contracts. Accordingly, the number of mercenaries who returned to Syria, after being sent earlier by the Turkish government to fight in Libya, has risen to more than 2,200 in just one week. Continuer à lire … « Turkish-backed mercenaries | Over 2,200 fighters return from Libya to Syria in six days, after completing duration of their contracts »
Catégorie : Security
Tunisia : U.S., Tunisia Sign Road Map for Defense Cooperation
01/10/2020 – Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper and Tunisian Defense Minister Ibrahim Bartagi agreed on a road map for defense cooperation during meetings in the capital city of Tunis.
The road map discussed yesterday charts a 10-year course for cooperation between the two countries.
Tunisia is a major non-NATO ally of the United States and already works with the Defense Department on many shared interests and concerns. The agreement will advance these shared security interests, said a U.S. defense official traveling with the secretary.
The road map recognizes the importance of the U.S.-Tunisian relationship in North Africa and the Mediterranean. Tunisia is a « security exporter » in the region, participating in many exercises and cooperating with other nations in security matters.
Terrorism and threats from violent extremist organizations are always a danger in the region, and Tunisia is intimately involved in looking for solutions to the migrant crisis. Esper said he is impressed by the Tunisians’ efforts to enhance their capabilities against terrorists, but also to promote stability and security on the African continent.
« The road map is a shared understanding of where our shared priorities are, » the defense official said speaking on background. « It talks about shared objectives, shared interests and shared threats. These are areas where we can work together. »
The road map took two years to negotiate, and it is a clear-eyed look at the relationship and suggests ways to close capability gaps. « We both want to improve [Tunisia’s] military capabilities and training to improve [U.S. and Tunisian] interoperability. »
Some of the shared interests include freedom of navigation, intelligence sharing, humanitarian operations and disaster relief, the official said.
The official would not speak specifically on what gaps the nations see in their military capabilities, but spoke of gaps that African nations, in general, experience — airlift, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance shortages and the like.
The 10-year road map is a relatively new program. It allows the nations to begin the planning and funding cycles in such a way as to build incrementally. The official said this may be a blueprint for negotiations with other nations in Africa and elsewhere.
, DOD NEWS
US DEPT OF DEFENSE
Sahel-Elite (Bamako-Mali)
Algeria And Tunisia Strongly In Support Of Political Solution To Libyan Crisis
01/10/2020 – Tunisian Media sources said Algeria and Tunisia were united in the need to continue efforts to push the political solution to the crisis in Libya, away from foreign interventions. Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Bugadoum said after a meeting with President Qeis Saed said he had briefed the President on the talks he had with his Counterpart Othman Al Jrindi. Bugadoum said he had the opportunity to listen to the vision of President Saed for the situation in the region and the challenges particularly in Libya.
LANA
Sahel-Elite (Bamako-Mali)
U.S. defense chief’s rare Algeria visit points to Sahel region threats
Algiers-Reuters
01/10/2020 U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper made a rare visit to Algeria on Thursday for talks with the president about war-torn Libya and the troubled Sahel region to the south of the Sahara.
oth countries are alarmed by the threat posed by Islamist militant groups in North Africa and the Sahel, and Algeria is weighing a more active military role against them outside its own borders.
They held “talks on Libya and the Sahel and both parties agreed to maintain cooperation and coordination,” a statement from Algeria’s presidency said.
Esper’s visit is the first by a U.S. Defense Secretary to Algeria since Donald Rumsfeld’s in 2006 and he is also the most senior American official yet to meet President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Tebboune took office in December after last year’s mass protests led the army to push his predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika to step down after 20 years in power.
The new president has proposed changes to the constitution aimed at mollifying the opposition protest movement, but the reforms would also give the army new powers to intervene in neighbouring states.
“Mark Esper wants to discuss the Algerian army’s possible role in the region once the new constitution is passed as it allows peace-keeping operations overseas,” a Western diplomat in Algeria familiar with the matter told Reuters.
An Algerian source said the talks were expected to focus on Libya, where nine years of chaos after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi have created space for militants, and Mali, where French troops are trying to help quell an Islamist insurgency.
“Algeria has an influence in Mali. It showed it can help. The Americans understood that French military intervention did not curb terrorism,” a senior Algerian security source, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
“As for Libya, it is well known that Algeria maintains good ties with all the players including tribes and personalities,” the senior source told Reuters.
REUTERS
Sahel-Elite (Bamako-Mali)
Libya : UN approves Turkey-Libya maritime deal
01/10/2020 – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday certified a Turkey-Libya deal on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas in the Mediterranean.
The agreement « has been registered with the Secretariat, in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, » said the certificate of registration dated Wednesday.
« Every treaty and every international agreement entered into by any Member of the United Nations after the present Charter comes into force shall as soon as possible be registered with the Secretariat and published by it, » reads Article 102.
On Nov. 27, 2019, Ankara and Tripoli signed two memorandums of understanding; one on military cooperation and the other on maritime boundaries of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Anadolu Agency
Sahel-Elite (Bamako-Mali)
Libya’s Defense Minister meets Turkish counterpart in Ankara
01/10/2020 – Turkey’s defense minister on Thursday received his Libyan counterpart in the capital Ankara, said the Turkish National Defense Ministry.
After Turkey’s Hulusi Akar welcomed Salahaddin Namroush with military honors, they spoke about the latest situation in Libya, said a ministry statement.
Akar reiterated that Ankara would continue its military and security training and consultation with Libya, adding that Turkey supports Libya’s stability, independence, and sovereignty.
Last November, Turkey, and Libya signed a security and military cooperation agreement.
By Libyan Express
Sahel-Elite (Bamako-Mali) | Image: Libyan and Turkish Defense Ministers. [Photo: A.A]
Mali Thanks Morocco, King Mohammed VI for Post-Coup Diplomacy
Rabat – King Mohammed VI sent Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita to Mali on Tuesday to meet the country’s new leaders.
Mali’s recently-appointed transitional president, Ba N’Daou, received the Moroccan official in Bamako.
Bourita also met with the transitional Vice-President, Colonel Assimi Goita, and the transitional Prime Minister, Moctar Ouane. Continuer à lire … « Mali Thanks Morocco, King Mohammed VI for Post-Coup Diplomacy »
Algerian Army Rejects Constitutional Amendment on Foreign Military Operations
14/09/2020 – The Algerian army rejected the constitutional amendment, to be submitted for a referendum in two months, that would allow the military establishment to participate in operations outside the country to restore peace.
The army command suggested replacing the term “restoring peace” with “peacekeeping,” which observers interpreted as the military leadership’s rejection to involve the army in possible battles on foreign territories. Continuer à lire … « Algerian Army Rejects Constitutional Amendment on Foreign Military Operations »
Libya – Arrest of 13 members of ‘Al-kani’ militia gang
By Rabia Golden
14/09/2020 – The Libyan Army announced on Saturday, the arrest of a villainous gang, consisting of 13 members of ‘Al kani’ militia, in the city of Tarhuna in the western region.
The Media Center for the Volcano of Rage Operation stated that the forces tasked with the protection and security of the Costal Road (Treeq Al-Sahali), arrested the gang members while they attempted to hide in the Hawatim area of Tarhuna.
The Media Center added that the gang consisted of criminal elements who trawled the Al-Sahali Road, engaging in kidnappings and murder of passers-by, just as was their practice during the aggression on Tripoli.
The Libya Observer
Sahel-Elite (Bamako-Mali)
Libya – Turkish Defence Minister: We totally support Libya to establish a regular army
Rabia Golden
14/09/2020 -The Turkish Defence Minister, Hulusi Akar confirmed his country’s support for all Libyans to achieve unity in their country and assist them in establishing Libya’s regular army to preserve Libyan security and sovereignty.
Akar said, during an interview with the Turkish Anadolu Agency, that many countries and institutions sustained silence regarding Haftar and his militia’s attacks in Libya.
Earlier this month, Akar confirmed, during a meeting with his Libyan counterpart, that Ankara would continue its training and consultation activities in both the military and security fields in Libya.
The Libya Observer
Sahel-Elite (Bamako-Mali) | Image utilisée juste à titre d’illustration: Hulusi Akar
Sahel-Elite (Bamako-Mali) 