Vol 56 No 21 | EGYPT Richer military, fewer voters 22nd October 2015 With the record low turnout for the general elections on 18-19 October likely to delegitimise Parliament and further strengthen the hand of President Abdel Fatah el Sisi, the...
Vol 56 No 19 | ALGERIA Trembles at the top 24th September 2015 The removal of the security chief is a major event which could signal the beginning of the end of the Bouteflika years After holding the reins of power since he took over the Département du renseignement et de la sécurité in November 1990, the military intelligence chief, Lieutenant General Mohammed...
Vol 56 No 19 | LIBYA Battle for the bureaucrats 24th September 2015 A political deal between Tobruk and Tripoli is as distant as ever. Economic collapse may be a bigger threat than the low-level militia violence Despite their extreme differences, there is still pressure on Libya's rival parliaments in Tripoli and Tobruk to agree a unity government. It comes not from the limited diplomatic...
Vol 56 No 18 | EGYPT First laws, then parliament 10th September 2015 The election of a parliament may place some limits on the regime but much of what it wants to do has already been accomplished by decree By the time the new Parliament holds its first session following the two-round general elections in October and November, more than 500 laws will already be on the...
Vol 56 No 16 | EGYPT Mote and beemer 6th August 2015 Egypt’s Customs Department has unilaterally raised the price of imported BMW vehicles by 18% in a move that appears intended to favour local car factories owned by the...
Vol 56 No 16 | ALGERIA Attack prompts security reshuffle 29th July 2015 A presumed attempt on President Bouteflika’s life is being put to good use by intriguers in the ruling elite The attack on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s seaside residence has resulted in the dismissal of security officers judged responsible for compromising the safety of the head of state.
Vol 56 No 15 | ALGERIA Southern discomfort 22nd July 2015 The regime is on the defensive as protests in the south compound a major renewed threat from Islamists Details are scant, but reports suggest that terrorists launched a rocket attack on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s seaside home at Zeralda, outside Algiers, at dawn on 16 July. No...
Vol 56 No 15 | ALGERIA The franchise war between Al Qaida and Da’ish 22nd July 2015 Shaken by the January 2013 raid on the BP-Statoil-Sonatrach gas plant near In Amenas, which Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s Al Mourabitoun group carried out, security chiefs have mobilised forces to...
Vol 56 No 14 | EGYPT Attacks bring 'state of war' 10th July 2015 A new phase of Islamist violence and brutal retaliation by the regime shakes Egypt to the core The modest security gains which President Abdel Fatah el Sisi's military regime could claim have all but dissolved in a deluge of violence initiated by Islamists and unmatched...
Vol 56 No 11 | EGYPT Taxing tensions 29th May 2015 The government’s promises of tax-free investment sit ill with a Finance Ministry desperate to increase revenue President Abdel Fatah el Sisi has thrown his weight behind a campaign to launch a strong economic recovery by attracting billions of dollars of private investment. This includes...