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Africa North

Batna citizens help Algerian army thwart terrorist operation

2013-09-05

[MAGHAREBIA] Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika ... 10th president of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term, who will probably die in office of old age... on Tuesday (September 3rd) asked the army to step up efforts to secure the border, four days after authorities thwarted an attempt by a terror cell to infiltrate a district in Batna. Army Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaid Salah briefed the president Tuesday on prevailing conditions in the country and along the border. That came after Algerian security forces on Friday killed one terrorist and tossed in the clink Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! two more during an operation in Batna. Another terrorist turned himself in after the intervention forces besieged him at a building where he took a family hostage. A fourth terrorist reportedly escaped. When the myrmidon took the family hostage, armed services cordoned off the area, deployed snipers on rooftops and avoided a direct confrontation with him for fear of the family members' lives. The terrorist tried to escape before he was surrounded by security forces, prompting him to turn himself in without resistance amid applause by curious citizens who gathered at the scene and expressed their relief over the operation. The Aurès Mountains in the province are a stronghold for terrorist groups. The province has witnessed several terrorist operations, including an liquidation attempt against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika six years ago. A terrorist group active in the region also carried out an operation in 2003 in which more than 45 soldiers were killed. The new attack was part of al-Qaeda's attempts to disrupt the security cordon imposed on the border and its main strongholds. Since Ramadan, the province has seen an escalation of movements by terrorist groups who set up fake security checkpoints on some paths and intimidated citizens. Interior Minister Dahou Ould Kablia said that the Batna operation was "an isolated act" carried out by a terrorist group. On the side-lines of the inauguration of the autumn session of the parliament, Ould Kablia said that the security agencies managed to thwart a terrorist group's plan to attack the province. He noted that the operation took place based on information provided by citizens from Batna. Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Slats Chumbaloni was staring into a hole that was just .45 inch in diameter and was less than three feet from his face ... Ould Kablia denied any relation between the terrorists' attempt to infiltrate Batna province, located in eastern Algeria, and the security events along the Tunisian-Algerian border. "The Batna operation carries a lot of indications," military expert Taher Ben Thamer commented. "The first indication is about al-Qaeda's attempt to move its operations from the mountains to urban areas and cities for several factors, including ease of finding accessible targets, especially security personnel, and also the possibility of hiding among citizens." He added, "Some snuffies rented and bought real estate in major cities taking advantage of ransom money and money obtained by extorting citizens. They can use these houses to hide and plan terrorist operations inside cities." The military expert said the terrorists' move from the mountains to the cities was in part due to the success of security forces in the groups' traditional strongholds. "Many of the areas where the snuffies are based, whether in desert or Kabylie, are under siege by security forces and it's impossible for the snuffies to move freely," Ben Thamer said. Algeria's el-Bilad daily reported that security agencies found a message with one of the snuffies purportedly sent by al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) chief Abdalmalek Droukdel, (alias Abou Moussaab Abdelouadoud) to emirs. The message reportedly ordered brigade chiefs to step up terrorist operations within urban areas and to focus on recruiting new young members for the gangs. Directly after the operation, the security agencies beefed up security measures in some provinces by increasing checkpoints and security barriers, imposing strict controls and launching large-scale combing operations in the mountains.

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Africa North

Algeria focuses on Kabylie terrorists

2013-03-08

[MAGHAREBIA] Algerian National Police Director-General Major General Abdelghani Hamel paid a working visit to the operational security installations in Bouira province on Wednesday (March 6th). Hamel recognised the role played by the police force in protecting citizens while emphasising in the same context the mandatory need to address all forms of criminality in the Kabylie region. Roughly 400 armed al-Qaeda beturbanned goons are still active in the Kabylie region, security officials announced last week. The figure was released during a meeting focused on the assessment of security measures in the region to confront the gunnies deployed in the provinces of Boumerdès, Bouira and blood-stained Tizi Ouzou, Tout sur l'Algerie reported. These areas constitute the most important strongholds of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The sources pointed out that about 280 beturbanned goons out of the 400 in eastern Algeria were active in the province of Bouira, where hard boyz recently attacked a Djebahia gas pipeline. Roughly 73 beturbanned goons were in Boumerdès and 50 were in blood-stained Tizi Ouzou. The latest terrorist attack in blood-stained Tizi Ouzou occurred on Monday when a soldier was maimed after a bomb went kaboom! in the Yakouren Forest. The kaboom took place during a sweep conducted by members of the Algerian army. One day prior to the attack, army troops clashed with hard boyz at the southern entrance of the city of blood-stained Tizi Ouzou after a terrorist group opened fire on a security checkpoint. Security affairs expert Kamal Al Hadef attributed the growth of hard boyz in the region to the "withdrawal of the gendarmes after the events of the Black Spring and the protests that defined the region years ago". "These hard boyz pose a threat to the residents of the villages," retired military officer Tahar Ben Thamer said, noting that residents in the area became "victims of extortion of money and supplies after hard boyz lost their most important Emirs". He added that they were operating in a "scattered manner after the after security forces and the army tightened the noose". A report prepared by the blood-stained Tizi Ouzou Chamber of Industry and Commerce noted 71 cases of businesses leaving the province for reasons related to management difficulties hindering economic development as well as the security situation. During a visit to the region last summer, Interior Minister Dahou Ould Kablia called for greater participation of local people in the fight against terrorism through co-ordination with the army and security forces. "Terrorism has declined significantly," he said while stressing the need to continue the fight until its final elimination. According to security analysts, targeting beturbanned goons deployed in the region would be a fatal blow to the organization.

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Africa North

2 Dead, 6 Hurt, '41 Foreigners Taken Hostage' as Islamists Raid Algeria Gas Field over Mali Operation

2013-01-17

[An Nahar] Algeria, which has opened its airspace to French warplanes hitting Islamists in northern Mali, was targeted Wednesday in a deadly Dire Revenge™ attack in which faceless myrmidons seized 41 Western hostages. The Islamists, who said they entered Algeria from northern Mali, told Mauritanian media they were holding 41 Westerners, among them French, British and Japanese citizens, as well as seven Americans, at a southern gas field. One Briton and an Algerian were killed in the attack, Interior Minister Dahou Ould Kablia said. Six people were maimed -- another Briton, a Norwegian and a Scot, as well as an Algerian security agent and two coppers. Britannia's Foreign Office was unable to confirm that a Briton died, saying only that "British nationals are caught up in this incident." The In Amenas gas field is jointly operated by British oil giant BP, Norway's Statoil and state-run Algerian energy firm Sonatrach. Production was shut down after the attack. A worker at the scene told Agence La Belle France Presse by phone that the gang was demanding freedom for 100 Islamists held in Algeria in exchange for the Western hostages. "The assailants have demanded that these Islamists be taken to northern Mali," he said. The interior minister insisted Algiers would not negotiate with the "terrorists," who he said were surrounded by the army and security services. Speaking on national television, Kablia said the group appeared to want to leave the country with the hostages, which Algiers rejected, but denied they had come from either Mali or Libya, saying they were "around 20 men from the region." The attack took place at dawn, when armed Islamists targeted a bus carrying oil workers to the In Amenas airport, the interior ministry said. The assailants were repelled by security escorts, but then headed for the gas field's residential compound, where they took the hostages. BP confirmed that the In Amenas gas complex had been attacked. "The site was attacked and occupied by a group of unidentified armed people at about 0500 (GMT). Contact with the site is extremely difficult, but we understand that armed individuals are still occupying the In Amenas operations site," it said in a statement. "Our absolute priority is the safety and security of our staff," BP added, saying "we do not yet have confirmed information on the status of personnel at the site but believe some are being held by the occupiers." A French catering company said 150 of its Algerian employees were being held at the complex. "The information I have is that a group of around 60 bully boyz from neighboring countries attacked the base overnight," said CIS Catering's executive director Regis Arnoux. "They took all the expatriates hostage, regardless of nationality, and tied them up. The Algerian staff are being held inside the site," he told French newspaper the Journal du Dimanche, adding: "We fear the worst, there are many lives at stake." The Algerian news agency APS said Algerian hostages were later freed, without saying how many. Japanese engineering firm JGC said five Japanese workers were believed to have been seized, while separate sources said a Frenchies, an Irish citizen and a Norwegian were among those taken hostage. The U.S. State Department confirmed that American citizens were among hostages, and the White House said it was "closely monitoring" the situation. One of the attackers told AFP by telephone that they were al-Qaeda loyalists who had slipped into Algeria from northern Mali where La Belle France launched a major offensive against the jihadists on January 11 to prevent them from advancing on the capital Bamako. "We are members of al-Qaeda and we came from northern Mali," the cut-thoat said. "We belong to the Khaled Abul Abbas Brigade (better known as Mokhtar Belmokhtar)," he added. An Islamist front man separately told Mauritanian media that the attack was "a reaction to Algeria's flagrant interference in allowing French planes into its airspace to launch raids on northern Mali."

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Africa North

Algeria salafist party seeks approval

2013-01-09

[MAGHAREBIA] Algerian salafists want to create a political party of their own. Last week they submitted an application to the interior ministry. Led by former members of the now-dissolved Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), salafists plan to offer an alternative to the current Islamist parties, who have failed to make an impact on the new political landscape. However, a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... their January 2nd application could be rejected due to the devastation caused by the former FIS. Abdelfattah Hamadache Zeraoui is the spokesperson for the aspiring new party, the Free Awakening Front. He is a former FIS activist who has made a name for himself over the last few years by attending public demonstrations. The founders of the new party intend to "enrich the political scene with salafist political involvement". They are making no secret of their religious leanings. The salafists' political plan is described in their manifesto as "one of a happy medium and moderation" far removed from extremism. "We are exercising our natural and legitimate right to debate and criticise all matters of interest to the Algerian people, in accordance with Algeria's illusory sovereignty and character, without excess or compromise," stated Zeraoui. He added that his movement wants to play a part in cleaning up society's morals because, he argued, "If we leave this to the secularists and the liberals, they will cause a legislative disaster contrary to originality, values and religion." Analysts, however, believe their application could be rejected due to legal obstacles. First, the 1996 Constitution prohibits the creation of religion-based parties. A bigger hurdle, however, comes from provisions in the National Reconciliation Charter, which hold the leaders of the former FIS responsible for the tragedy suffered by the Algerian nation during the 1990s and forbid them to engage in political activity. However, the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits... nothing has been decided yet, said Interior Minister Dahou Ould Kablia. The FIS "was dissolved by way of legal proceedings in March 1992 for reasons that are generally known", the minister said. "If they now want to create a party abroad, that's up to them," Ould Kablia added. "It will have no impact on politics within this country."

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Africa North

Algeria's Ruling Party Wins Local Election

2012-12-01

[An Nahar] The ruling National Liberation Front won Algeria's municipal and regional elections, Interior Minister Dahou Ould Kablia announced on Friday, in a widely-expected result. Voter turnout, considered the only real issue in Thursday's polls, was officially pegged at 44.27 percent, described by Kablia as "acceptable," as thousands had to brave poor weather conditions to cast their ballots. The FLN, which holds a majority in the National Assembly and to which President Abdelaziz Bouteflika ... 10th president of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third term, which is probably why Algerians are ready to dump him... belongs, won an outright majority in 159 municipalities, out of 1,541, and scored the highest vote in 832 communes. The Rally for National Democracy (RND) of former prime minister Ahmed Ouyahia, another party in the presidential alliance, came second, winning an outright majority in 132 municipalities and highest score in 132 communes. The FLN and RND were followed by independents, which took control of 17 municipalities, and by secular opposition party the Rally for Culture and Democracy, which won 13 communes outright in the eastern Kabylie region, its heartland. A surprise winner in the elections was the new Popular Algerian Movement, which won 12 communes. Founded by Environment Minister Amara Benyounes, the party was authorized under political reforms introduced by the president in April last year, in the wake of Arab Spring unrest.

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Africa North

Algeria can not associate with non-Muslims in the fight against terrorism

2011-02-25

[Ennahar] Minister of Interior and Local Government; Dahou Ould Kablia said that the regime in Algeria is not in danger of falling, like what happened in Tunisia and Egypt. The Algerian people are aware of the accomplishments made during the last ten years, he said. In an interview with France 24, Algerian Minister of Interior and Local Government spoke about the latest events organized by the National Coordination for Change and Democracy (NCCD), unauthorized, which led to its ban, the minister added that the protesters provoked the police to make believe that the regime in Algeria is a repressive regime. Ould Kablia said that the regime in Algeria is completely different from that in Tunisia or Egypt. Each nation, he said, has its peculiarities and its nature. If the investment programs in these countries were concentrated in specific regions, in Algeria, the investment policy is not built on regionalism; financial allocations were made available for remote areas, like southern and High Plateaus. For the Algerian Minister of the Interior, what happens in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya could have negative consequences. If the people in these countries gain freedom, they will lose their independence in return because of the interests and ambitions of the West who will not hesitate to intervene to defend them. The example is instructive with transitional governments in Tunisia and Egypt. Furthermore, concerning the fight against terrorism and the organization AQIM, the minister said that cooperation is very low because of the disproportionate means in these countries and cooperation of Mali and Niger with Western countries like the United States and France. A situation that irritates Algeria, the minister added, as this latter cannot cooperate with non-Muslims to fight Muslims. "We fight Muslims against Muslims without any outside help. Seriously -- there used to be way more Al Qaeda in the Maghreb men around here, but now there aren't. We're pretty good at that, in fact."

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Africa North

The wilaya of Algiers confirms ban on a march

2011-02-08

[Ennahar] The wilaya (Prefecture) of Algiers announced Monday it had rejected a request for authorization of an opposition march in Algiers on February 12 and proposed as an alternative to its initiative to organize a demonstration in a large room in the capital. "In accordance with regulations in force, a refusal was notified to the authors of this demand," said the wilaya in a statement. The event will be held in "one of several venues in the capital, including the dome of Boudiaf Olympic complex with a capacity of 10,000 seats," it said, quoted by APS. The National Coordination for Change and Democracy (NCCD), comprising opposition and civil society, born in the wake of riots against high prices in early January, called for a march Saturday in Algiers to demand the lifting of the particular state emergency, in force since February 1992 and a "system change". Last Saturday, the CNDC decided to maintain its course despite the liberalization measures announced Thursday by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, a month after the riots against high prices that had killed five people. The Head of State had also recalled that Algiers was banned in the demonstrations but that steps could be held elsewhere. For the authorities, the ban on marches in Algiers is justified by "public order reasons." On 30 January the Minister of Interior Dahou Ould Kablia had also told the newspaper Liberté that no march would be allowed. Street demonstrations are banned in the capital of Algeria since June 14, 2001 when a march in favor of Kabylia had turned into a riot which left eight dead and hundreds injured. The National Coordinating gathers including the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD, opposition), the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH) and representatives of civil society.

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Africa North

Ould Kablia: We received no formal application for organizing a march on 12 February

2011-02-03

[Ennahar] Minister of Interior and Local Government, Dahou Ould Kablia said, about the march decided by several civil society organizations for current February 12, he received no formal request from these organizations. The minister said in an interview with Ennahar, he received no official request for permission to organize the march on February 12 to demand regime change. "I can not make decisions regarding procedures, whether to allow or to prohibit it, since I have not received any official request," he said, adding that the subject of this march "is discussed in the street, I heard about it like any citizen." Regarding the Department's intention to ban the march, the minister indicated that he "has not received any request for official permission. Once this is done, I will take the appropriate decision." About an appeal to citizens not to answer the call of the organizers of the march, the minister says "calling upon citizens not to participate in the walk is not my prerogative, but rather that of politician, I think they will do." At the meeting of the Coordination for Change, held recently at the headquarters of the union, attended by 50 organizations and associations of civil society and political parties, including the movement of Arch, they were unanimous in demanding the departure of the regime and the need to extend the march to the entire country with the same slogan "Regime, go away."

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Africa North

Algeria: No March will be allowed in Algiers

2011-01-31

[Ennahar] Algerian Interior Minister Dahou Ould Kablia reminded that no march will be permitted by the authorities in Algiers, in an interview Sunday with the French-language daily Liberté. "The marches are banned in Algiers," he said ensuring that this does not apply only to protests from the opposition but to "all marches". January 22, a march of the RCD (Rally for Culture and Democracy, opposition) was prevented by police. "If a Party from the presidential Alliance plans to hold a march tomorrow in Algiers, I can tell you as Minister of Interior, that it will be banned," he added. The presidential Alliance, in power in Algeria, includes the National Liberation Front (FLN, Conservative), The National Democratic Rally (RND, Liberal) of Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, and the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP, Islamist). A march to demand the "departure of the regime" is scheduled on February 12 in Algiers at the invitation of the new National Coordination for Change and Democracy, which includes opposition movements and civil society organizations. This coordination was born Jan. 21 in the wake of riots in early January that killed five people and injured over 800. The Minister explained that the ban on marches was justified by security reasons. "Algiers is a city of three million inhabitants. There are problems that can not be taken into account by the organizers of the marches," he said. Street demonstrations are banned in Algeria since June 14, 2001 when a march in favor of Kabylia had turned into a riot which left eight dead and hundreds injured. The Minister particularly mentioned the possible intervention of "elements that have nothing to do with the objective of the march who are there to create disorder". "There's always the problem of terrorism," he also stressed. Since the suicide kaboom'>suicide kabooms that hit Algiers in April and December 2007, significant police reinforcements were deployed permanently at the entrances to the capital to avert a possible attack by armed Islamist groups. Asked about the lifting of the state of emergency in force since February 1992, the minister said it "does not interfere with a number of activities." It "has been set up to fight against terrorism. This plague is not completely eradicated," he said. Asked whether Algeria was concerned that the popular revolt that brought down the Tunisian President Ben Ali be repeated in the region, Mr. Ould Kablia said: "the comparison with other contexts is not justified" "In Algeria, there is a development (...) In both urban and rural areas, development projects are extremely important. Water is available everywhere. All indicators are positive: the school, housing, gas, schooling, and health care," he added.

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Africa North

Algeria: Islamists fail to horn in on riots

2011-01-11

[Ennahar] Algerian Islamists have tried unsuccessfully to be added to the new revolt that has shaken Algeria since 5 January, when they had reached the peak of their popularity after the deadly riots of October 1988. "Islamists have lost the war of public opinion against the official discourse that portrays them as killers, murderers of children and women," told AFP Ismail Maaraf political scientist. Presumably because they're murderers with the blood of hundreds, maybe thousands, of women and kiddies on their hands. Young born during the "red decade", connected to the world through the Internet and satellite channels are less permeable to fundamentalist discourse, he notes. Yet, from his exile in Qatar, the former chairman of the Islamic Front of Salvation (FIS) Abassi Madani called on supporters of his party, declared off-the-law in 1992, to join the protest against high prices started five days ago. His deputy, Ali Belhadj, was in Bab el Oued district of Algiers where he was unwelcome, while the Imam with ascetic face was the idol of young people 20 years ago. The incendiary sermons of Algerian Islamic loons then drew tens of thousands of faithful biased against the regime. They formed the first battalion of fighters when the FIS rose to armed action after being deprived of its electoral victory in the first multiparty legislative of the country in December 1991. While the riots started last week, the imam has gathered around him a handful of young people, and he was quickly jugged by police. "The recovery attempt failed completely" told AFP Interior Minister Dahou Ould Kablia.

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Africa North

Algeria to arm civilians against terror

2010-11-05

[Arab News] The interior minister has reportedly said that Algeria will resume a policy of arming people to reinforce the fight against terrorism in the north African country. Dahou Ould Kablia says the government would honor a request of some civilians in insecure areas for weapons "to fight against terrorism." He didn't specify which people would be armed and said the defense ministry was behind the decision. Algerian media on Wednesday published the comments made Tuesday. Al-Qaeda's offshoot in North Africa has its roots and has carried out killings in Algeria. The government had a policy of arming civilians during the Islamist insurgency that left up to 200,000 people dead in Algeria in the 1990s. It was later halted under amnesty deals.

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Africa North

GSPC claims responsibility for Algeria attacks

2007-02-15

Algerians woke on Tuesday (February 13th) to find themselves facing a resurgence of bomb attacks, which plagued the country from 1994 to 1997. Seven car bombs targeting police stations exploded simultaneously in the regions of Boumerdès and Tizi Ouzou, situated 50km and 100km east of Algiers. Al Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb -- the new name for the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) -- claimed responsibility for the attacks in a telephone call to al-Jazeera. Six people were killed, including two police officers, and 13 were wounded, according to the interior ministry. This is the first time since the dissolution of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) that bomb attacks have been conducted simultaneously so close to the capital. According to the ministry, the deadliest was the attack in Si Mustafa, Boumerdes province, where a car bomb killed four people. The attacks were carried out simultaneously at 4:30am Algiers time, using remote-controlled car bombs. "Everyone was asleep ... I heard a loud explosion, and the windows in the house shook," says Rachid Taourirt, who lives in the town of Tizi Ouzou, 11km from the attack on the police station in Draâ Ben Khedda. Cherif Kahdmi, a resident of the nearby town of Mekla described the police station as "completely destroyed". "Due to lack of elements and difficulty of recruitment, and especially the vigileance of security services in large urban centres, the GSPC had no choice but to obey Ayman al-Zawahiri who legitimizes collective massacres -- car bomb attacks that cause more damage," the paper reported. Algeria daily Liberte Algerie said on Wednesday that the GSPC seems to have abandoned its confrontational strategy, opting for the "less risky" remotely detonated car bombs. "Due to lack of elements and difficulty of recruitment, and especially the vigileance of security services in large urban centres, the GSPC had no choice but to obey Ayman al-Zawahiri who legitimizes collective massacres -- car bomb attacks that cause more damage," the paper reported. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa denounced the attacks and voiced the league's solidarity with Algeria in its anti-terror fight. The attacks come a week after statements from Interior Ministry Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni and Deputy Minister for Local Communities Dahou Ould Kablia, of possible risks posed by the GSPC. According to Zerhouni, the group’s decision to take a new name "changes nothing in reality. We are still dealing with the same men, and we shall fight them to the end." Ould Kablia, downplayed the threat posed by the Salafist Group, judging it to be "on its way to being stamped out."

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