North Africa

Libya: US air-strike targets jihadist leaders

US warplanes carried out air-strikes on Ajdabiya, Libya, killing several leading members of the Ansar al-Sharia militant network which had recently proclaimed for ISIS.

North Africa

ISIS in Libya: now a three-sided war

Both the Islamist-led Libyan Dawn coalition that controls Tripoli and the more secular "official" government now exiled to Tobruk are battling ISIS forces in Libya.

North Africa

Libya: ISIS abducts Eritrean Christians

As Libyan peace talks open in Morocco, ISIS militants abduced 86 Eritrean Christian migrants—including 12 women and several children—at a roadblock outisde Tripoli.

North Africa

Libya: ISIS tightens grip on Sirte

ISIS forces are in control of most of Moammar Qaddafi's hometown of Sirte, sucessfully repulsing an effort to retake the town by forces aligned with the Libya Dawn coalition.

North Africa

Mali: Tuareg rebels demand autonomous Azawad

Mali's government is boasting a deal with Tuareg leaders granting autonomy to the northern homeland of Azawad—but the biggest rebel factions are holding out for more power.

North Africa

Amnesty: Libya migrants facing rape and torture

Refugees and migrants in Libya face rights abuses including torture and rape, causing many to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean to escape, Amnesty International reports.

North Africa

Libya: Coptic Christians abducted by ISIS?

Presumed ISIS adherents in Libya have released photos on social media purporting to show some 20 abducted Coptic Christians, saying they await execution.

North Africa

Mauritania: death sentence for blasphemy

Blogger Cheikh Ould Mohamed of Mauritania was sentenced to death for apostasy after a court convicted him of "speaking lightly of the Prophet Mohammed" on websites.