As Mali's northern provinces become more secure, Islamist militants will increasingly engage in targeted attacks, using asymmetric warfare to test international troops and regain the upper hand.

The military cooperation agreements announced last month with Algeria and Libya are part of UK 'energy diplomacy' aimed at securing access to strategic resources in North Africa. Both countries are identified in the UK Energy Security Strategy as producers of gas and oil which are important trading partners and hence countries which are important to the UK's energy security.

Britain is to mount an ambitious programme of support for human rights amongst key allies as part of the ongoing war on terrorism, Foreign Secretary W...

On average a man, women or child dies every minute as a result of armed violence.Two thirds die in countries that are not officially in conflict. Violence fuelled by illegal arms diverts resources away from schools, healthcare and critical infrastructure. It undermines sustainable development, eats away at stability and robs millions of their future.

The Al Qaeda movement doubtless remains lethal, virulent and wholly requiring of the coordinated international response that just prevented Mali from collapse and subjugation. But it is also being incrementally pushed into an age more like the 1990s...

Inch by inch and day by day, Britain seems to be sliding ever deeper into the shifting sands of the Malian desert. It is, in my view, a military adventure that's unnecessary, ill-advised and fraught with danger.

Both have been Prime Minister, both know how hard the job can be. Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show this morning, Tony Blair highlighted why he and David Cameron aren't so different after all.

The government has rejected calls for MPs to be given a vote on the deployment of armed forces personel to Mali and west Africa, amid fears Britain co...

Call me an idealist, but people need to reflect upon their motivation, on where they get their kicks, on what is really driving them in conflict before they embark on violence with all its negative consequences for themselves and others.

David Cameron is to visit Algeria in the wake of the hostage crisis that left six Britons dead, it was revealed tonight. Downing Street confirmed t...

Despite little media coverage al Qaeda-linked Islamist groups have been consolidating and extending their grip across northern Mali for several months. Jihadist fighters have reportedly been crossing Mali's porous borders described by Malians as having come from as far afield as Yemen, Somalia and Afghanistan.

Tony Blair has given his backing to David Cameron's warning of a "generational" struggle against terrorism, in the wake of the Algerian hostage crisis...

If this battle is not for ideological reasons then what is it for?

David Cameron has warned that Britain is engaged in a "generational struggle" against terrorism in the wake of the Algerian hostage crisis which has l...

The threat of extremism in North Africa could be "much worse" if the West had not intervened in Libya, William Hague has warned. The Foreign Secret...

The ten things you need to know on Monday 21 January 2013... 1) A 'JINXED' SPEECH So, it seems the long-awaited, much-delayed, 'tantric' speech ...

Britain's foreign policy will need fresh assessment in the wake of the Algerian hostage crisis a number of senior political figures have said. Shad...