Issandr El Amrani Project Director, North Africa Please submit all media inquiries to amrani@crisisgroup.org or call +32 (0) 2 536 00 71 Issandr El Amrani oversees Crisis Group's North Africa Project. Prior to joining Crisis Group, he was a writer and consultant on Middle Eastern affairs based in Cairo. His reporting and commentary on the region has appeared in The Economist, London Review of Books, Financial Times, The National, The Guardian, Time and other publications. He has also advised leading investment firms and NGOs on the region. He is the founder of The Arabist, one of the longest-running and most-read blogs on Arab politics culture, and the co-founder of Cairo magazine. He is also a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Issandr, who is Moroccan-American, has lived in the region since 2000, mostly in Cairo, and currently resides in Rabat. Areas of Expertise Islamism & Islamist movements in North Africa Domestic politics of North Africa Geopolitics of the Arab Spring & its aftermath Egyptian domestic politics & foreign policy Egypt & the Israeli-Palestinian conflict US & EU policies towards the Arab world Professional Background Independent consultant and journalist 2009-2013 North Africa analyst, International Crisis Group, 2007-2009 Independent journalist, 2000-2007 Co-founder and editor, Cairo Editor, Cairo Times Languages English French Arabic In The News 23 Apr 2018 With everything pointing toward [Egypt's President] Sisi removing [presidential] term limits, there might be a confrontation with the military. CS Monitor Issandr El Amrani Project Director, North Africa 25 Mar 2018 For [the Egyptian government], development and economic growth come after the ISIS problem is resolved, and that is taking much longer than they anticipated. Al Jazeera Issandr El Amrani Project Director, North Africa 3 Feb 2018 [Egypt's President] Sisi's appointment as minister of defence in 2012 was partly predicated on a move to sideline [Retired Egyptian General Sami Hafez]. The Sydney Morning Herald Issandr El Amrani Project Director, North Africa 4 Jan 2018 It’s a sign the Qaddafists are mobilizing, trying to have their say [for the first time since 2011]. Libya’s getting more complicated. A breakthrough doesn’t seem imminent. Bloomberg Issandr El Amrani Project Director, North Africa 20 Dec 2017 [Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar does not have] sufficient strength or support [to take power in Libya]. He faces particularly strong opposition from (rivals in) the west, especially in Misrata. AFP Issandr El Amrani Project Director, North Africa 25 Nov 2017 [ISIL's direct attack on a mosque in Egypt] suggests that they are now completely indiscriminate and don’t care about local sentiment. The National Issandr El Amrani Project Director, North Africa Latest Updates Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa 15 January 2018 En Tunisie, « le risque d’une dérive autoritaire » Pour les chercheurs d’ICG, Michaël Ayari et Issandr El-Amrani, le pouvoir tunisien doit parachever la transition démocratique sept ans après la chute de Ben Ali. Originally published in Le Monde Afrique Op-Ed / Middle East & North Africa 15 January 2018 On the Politics behind Tunisia’s Protests Analysis on the politics behind the scenes of the ongoing protests in Tunisia. Originally published in The Arabist Commentary / Middle East & North Africa 21 December 2017 New Risks in Libya as Khalifa Haftar Dismisses UN-backed Accord Khalifa Haftar, who rules eastern Libya, has dismissed the two-year-old, UN-backed accord about how the country should be run. Haftar’s regional and international partners should act now to mitigate this new risk of escalation over his apparent ambition to rule Libya on his own. Open Letter / Middle East & North Africa 1 March 2017 Open Letter to Chancellor Merkel Uncritical engagement with Egypt will not promote European interests, says European Working Group on Egypt ahead of Chancellor Merkel's visit to Cairo. Commentary / Middle East & North Africa 14 December 2016 Oil Zone Fighting Threatens Libya with Economic Collapse New clashes over Libya’s oilfields could wreck the fragile remains of the country’s economy. Beyond security help, international actors must support compromises on state financing between the opposing factions and help pull Libya back from the brink. Also available in العربية Load more