ANALYSIS
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MEA Risk is an information, analysis, forecasting and alerting company that tracks security, risk and stability in many regions. We track incidents, from terrorism and counter-terror operations, to criminality, political and social unrest and all other key factors that contribute to the instability of a region. Our Analysts are on the ground working 24 hours a day so they can be your eyes and ears there. Stay safe and find out how we can help.
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Tunisia: Difficult Road to Stability
Tunisia continues to face several pain points that the government is struggling to contain. On the economic front, new data points confirm the tough start of the year for the country. Its foreign exchange reserves have dropped to 11.8 billion dinars ($4.98 billion)... read moreNigeria’s grazing wars are now deadlier than Boko Haram
Most people think of Boko Haram when they think of the top security problem facing Nigeria. That may be true until you learn more about one of the outcomes of the Boko Haram onslaught in northern Nigeria. Boko Haram’s reign of terror affected millions of people,... read moreKidnappings, insurgencies, and grazing wars: Nigeria’s escalating domestic crises
Nigeria’s MEA Risk stability rating fluctuates from week to week between moderate-risk and high-risk zone, leaning more to the latter considering the plethora of domestic security issues it is facing. For the week ending 21 January 2018, there were 46 critical... read moreNigeria’s stability assessment
For the period of 11 to 17 December 2017, there were 55 critical incidents in Nigeria, resulting in 36 deaths and 63 arrests. Criminality accounted for nearly 35%, followed by Security-related incidents with 18.37%. There have been many protests and demonstrations... read moreAlgeria stability week in review
In the period between 7 and 13 December 2017, there were 83 critical incidents in Algeria, resulting in eight deaths and 480 arrests, including 267 immigrants, 97 drug traffickers and 38 contraband smugglers. Algeria’s MEA Risk’s Stability Rating for that week ended... read moreMEA Risk Analyst Arezki Daoud speaks of Maghreb security and counter-terror strategies
On December 4, 2017, MEA Risk Analyst and North Africa Journal Editor, Arezki Daoud spoke at the Washington DC headquarters of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Algeria and Morocco’s strategies to counter terrorism. The event saw... read moreNigeria week in review – podcast summary for week ending Aug. 27, 2017
http://mearisk-server.com/podcasts/westafrica/Nigeria-week-ending-27August-2017.m4aPodcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: iTunes | Android | RSSThis 8eight-min podcast reviews Nigeria’s political and security environment for the week ending 27 August... read moreEgypt: Insurgency-military conflict intensifies, with July 2017 showing new records
Egypt is witnessing a broad reduction in the number of critical incidents on the year-over-year basis, as tracked by MEA Risk’s Critical Incidents Tracker. Compared to July 2016, the number of incidents considered to have had an impact on stability in Egypt fell 51.8%... read more
Morocco vs. EU: illegal migration and Western Sahara challenge agricultural agreement
Morocco and the European Union are at an impasse when it comes to their joint agricultural trade agreement. At the center of the raw is Morocco’s insistence on including fisheries and farm products from the contested Western Sahara province, which European courts...Egypt: Tension heats up in North Sinai, with threats for more to come elsewhere in Egypt
Suspected militants of the ‘Welayet Sinai’ (Province of Sinai) organization, affiliated to IS are suspected to be behind the killing of two Coptic Christians over the past few weeks. Attacks specifically targeting Christians have been on the rise recently, with the...Algeria: Police foil suicide attack in Constantine, background and takeways
A suicide attack targeting a police station in Bab el-Kantara, Constantine province, was foiled on 26 February. A suicide bomber was seeking to enter the police station, but was prevented to do so by an officer who opened fire on him. The bomber’s explosive belt...China to strengthen economic presence in Africa, seeks to widen political influence
Last month, China flexed its muscles against Nigeria when the West African country agreed to upgrade the second-tier Taiwanese diplomatic mission based in Abuja to full embassy status. Beijing did not like the move and has been threatening Nigeria to block any...French military presence in Africa unlikely to change post 2017 presidential elections
Despite a deadly year of terror in France, partly tied to the country’s involvement in major conflict zones, Paris is looking to maintain such involvement, and may even increase it. The upcoming presidential elections are not likely to witness a major policy change,...As counter-terror campaign intensifies in Algeria, Libya’s weapons making their way into the country
In the first four months of 2016, the Algerian army has killed 31 Islamist insurgents, and captured 33 others nationwide. Furthermore, an arsenal of war big enough to wreck havoc was siezed, including over 300 war weapons were retrieved, 202 hideouts were destroyed...Broadcast: Europe’s Radicalized Muslim Population
Europe’s integration policies related to its immigrants have been less than effective in stemming the rise of extremism. Decades of misconceived immigration strategies have led to the rise of radical movements, to the point now that new measures to strip the...Oil prices & the impact on Sovereign Wealth Funds Libya as a case
The drop in oil prices in the last 12 months has taken markets and investors by surprise. State institutions such as Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) have been affected and state budgets have suffered. SWF will grow slowly and in many cases will see some of their assets...The Other Time Bomb: Food Dependency in Middle East/North Africa
North Africa’s stability is not only undermined by the terror risk coming from Daesh and other insurgency groups, but it is also more acutely affected by broad governance issues and its inability to deal with pressing economic, social and environmental problems. One...How Algeria’s new budget may lead drug trafficking to soar
The recently adopted budget for fiscal year 2016 has been subject to vivid opposition from several political figures and civil society associations ever since a draft version was made released in late 2015. Developed on the basis of a reference price of $37 the barrel...
