African leaders are in Turkey this weekend, as they take part in the third Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The summit is meant to promote and deepen ties between Istanbul and African nations, with some 40 countries participating in the talks. They’re meant to lead to…
Officials in Greece have confirmed an ongoing search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea east of Crete, following reports of a migrant ship in distress. Yet the situation remains a bit confusing, according to one NGO monitoring the ship’s fate. On Friday, the Hellenic Coast Guard said they were…
On May 18th, US diplomat Joey Hood became the highest-ranking American official to visit Libya since 2014, the year that Washington closed its embassy in Tripoli amid surging violence. Hood’s visit tempered optimism—the US dangled the possibility of eventually reopening its Libyan embassy—with clear concern over the likelihood of achieving…
In the nearly ten years since Recep Tayyip Erdogan made his famous visit to Mogadishu in August 2011, Turkey has rapidly become one of Somalia’s most important (and generous) international benefactors. After Erdogan became the first head of state from outside of Africa to visit Somalia since the country’s disastrous…
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey arrived in Banjul on Monday, as part of a three-nation tour that follows a stop in Algeria and will continue in Senegal. This is Erdoğan’s first official visit to the West African nation, which comes amid The Gambia’s recent struggle over President Adama Barrow’s…
Libyan National Army (LNA) leader Khalifa Haftar returned to Benghazi late Monday, after eight hours of negotiations with Government of National Accord (GNA) head Fayez Al-Sarraj in Moscow that failed to deliver on a ceasefire agreement. The Al-Arabiya news outlet reports that “clashes renewed in Salah al-Din, south of the…
Libyan leader Khalifa Haftar has rejected a call from Russia and Turkey to implement a ceasefire beginning Sunday, and said the Libyan National Army will continue its offensive against Tripoli and the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) based there. Haftar made his announcement through a LNA spokesman late…
Ghassan Salamé, head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), had a stern warning Monday for other nations backing the warring parties in Libya, one he delivered after a closed-door session with the United Nations Security Council. “Keep your hands off Libya,” he said, when asked for his message…
The death toll in Mogadishu stands at 90 following a truck bomb attack in Mogadishu, likely the work of al Shabaab extremists in what is the latest in a string of terror attacks that have rocked Somalia’s capital for years. The explosion happened Saturday morning on a busy street crowded…
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted talks with Fayez Al-Sarraj of Libya on Sunday in Istanbul, as the two strengthened their security commitments in the face of both a renewed offensive on Tripoli at home and heightened tensions over the Eastern Mediterranean within the international community. Sarraj, the head of the…
Turkey’s ambassador to Tunisia has denied reports that extremist fighters from Syria are being transferred to Libya, a claim that has circulated in Libyan news outlets aligned with General Khalifa Haftar and the Libyan National Army (LNA) based in the country’s east. The new ambassador in Tunis, Refik Ali Onaner,…
The United States government has put its previously threatened economic sanctions on Turkey into force, targeting top Turkish government agencies and officials as tensions between the two nations in the Middle East continued to escalate. “The Turkish government’s actions are endangering innocent civilians and destabilizing the region, including undermining the…
Two years after Qatar was accused of sponsoring terrorism abroad – and isolated by many Gulf states and their African counterparts – comes the news that Qatar may well be coordinating attacks in Somalia. The New York Times reported Monday that it has possession of an audio recording made by…
Six Turkish citizens were released by Libyan forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar on Monday, following Haftar’s declaration that all Turkish citizens and assets in the country are Libyan National Army targets – and an equally forceful message from Turkey that warned of retaliation. Turkey’s ministry of foreign affairs called the…
The Libyan National Army has orders to target any Turkish ships or boats it finds in Libyan territorial waters, after LNA leader Khalifa Haftar declared Turkey responsible for “illegitimate Turkish aggression which resulted in destructive acts.” The decision announced early Saturday also says Turkish interests on Libyan soil are to…