Voters in Morocco deprived the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) of an expected parliamentary victory, handing it instead to the secular conservative Istiqlal party that is a member of the ruling coalition. In a surprisingly strong showing, Istiqlal won 52 of the 325 seats in the lower house of parliament. PJD, whose growing strength in recent years had worried its secular rivals, won 47 seats—far short of the 80 seats the party had hoped for. The PJD accused the ruling secular parties of buying votes and appealing to voters with hasty public works projects. "It is sickening," the PJD's Lahcen Daoudi told reporters. "The PJD has won, but Morocco has lost." Final authority rests with King Mohamed VI, who will name a prime minister based on the election results. The prime minister will then name a government, likely to be an awkward coalition that would include the PJD for the first time. (AP, Sept. 8)

A Sept. 6 suidice bombing in Batna, southeastern Algeria, left 22 dead and over 100 injured. The attack came just 40 minutes before a visit to the town by President Bouteflika. (North Africa Journal, Sept. 7) The attack came a day after security forces bombed a suspected militant hideout in a cave near Lagla el-Malha, a village in the conflicted eastern Tebessa region. The seven killed were suspected of carrying out an ambush Sept. 3 that killed five security officials and one civilian in the town of Henchir El-Hoshas. In July and August at least 80—mostly said to be armed militants—were killed in clashes in the region. (AP, Sept. 6)

In the wake of the third deadly suicide bombing to hit the country in four months, Algeria's government has vowed to eradicate armed Islamist groups—but also warned of new attacks. Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni called for "greater vigilance" from the population, and said the latest blast claimed by al-Qaeda would only bolster the government's "determination" to continue its crackdown. The July 11 truck bomb attack on the army barracks at Lakhdaria, which killed 10 soldiers and wounded 35, was designed to coincide with the opening in Algiers of the All Africa Games and the end of a lightning visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Mauritania's independent news agency Al-Akhbar reported June 26 that security forces had arrested four men supposedly linked to "al-Qaeda in the Maghreb" in raids on some Internet cafes in the the capital, Nouakchott. The detainees are said to be four foreigners (two Moroccans and two Algerians) and a Saudi national of Mauritanian origin. The arrests coincided with the opening of a trial of 11 detainees accused of links to al-Qaeda in the Maghreb. (BBC Monitoring, AKI, June 26)

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has accused UK Prime Minister Tony Blair of overriding the devolved powers of the Scottish parliament in negotiating a deal with Libya on prisoner transfer. In a statement to Scotland's parliament, Salmond said that it was "unacceptable" that Blair had not consultated with the body prior to signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Mommar Qadaffi during his tour of North Africa last week. "Any agreements which may flow from it are emphatically within the remit and authority of this parliament," Salmond said.

Libya announced May 29 it will sign a $900-million exploration deal with BP, marking a return by the UK oil giant to the North African country after a 33-year absence. The announcement came ahead of a visit to Tripoli by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is starting a tour of Africa before he leaves office next month. "BP will be announcing that they're going back into Libya," a spokesperson for Blair said, confirming that the outgoing premier was due to hold talks with Libyan leader Moammar Qadaffi.

Even as UN-mediated negotations are set to begin, Morocco has unleashed a new wave of repression against advocates of independence for Western Sahara. The new crackdown began May 7, when Saharawi students at the university of Agadir, Morocco, were brutally beaten and arrested. On May 17, police clashed with student protesters demanding independence for the occupied territory at Rabat University, with 15 arrested and some students injured. The clash came after protesters defied a police order to end a week-long sit-in at the entrance to the university. Brahim Elansari, a member of the Saharawi Association for Human Rights Victims (ASVDH), was arrested Sunday afternoon after police stopped his car in Laayoune, Western Sahara's main city, said the organization's president, Brahim Dahane. Fellow activist Hassana Douihi, who was riding with Elansari, was also arrested. Shortly afterward, police arrested Naama Asfari, president of the Paris-based Committee for the Respect of Human Freedoms and Rights in Western Sahara. (Infoshop News, May 22)

Mohamed Meziane, president of Algeria's energy parastatal Sonatrach, meeting with US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman in Washington, said he wants to triple natural gas exports to the US from 4 billion to 12 billion cubic metres per year by 2015. Algeria is also seeking technical assistance from the US in developing its nuclear capabilities.