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Olde Tyme Religion

Algeria Shuts Down Protestant Churches, Police Arrest Worshipers

2019-10-25

[Jpost] The closure of three Protestant churches in the Muslim-majority North African country of Algeria coincided with arrests of Protestant worshipers in mid-October. While Algerians in western nations can safely worship Ba'al in the several mosques and islamic centers afforded them, thank you. The US-based International Christian Concern (ICC) advocacy director Matias Perttula said that "Reports of rising levels of religious intolerance in Algeria are once again causing a great level of concern for ICC and our partners. These church closures are completely baseless and clear indicators of persecution and harassment of Algeria’s Christians, who represent a significant religious minority. ICC plans to raise this issue with our partners as well as members of Congress on Capitol Hill to make them aware of these human rights violations." The Morning Star News, a Christian media outlet, reported on October 14 that protestant Christians protested the closure of two churches. Pastor Salah Chalah, head of the Protestant Church of Algeria umbrella group l’Église Protestante d’Algérie (EPA), said the authorities retaliated against the Protestant Church of the Full Gospel of Tizi Ouzou because of a sit-in that Christians organized at the Bejaia Province headquarters on October 9.

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Africa North

Algerians protest over plan for swift elections

2019-09-07

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Tens of thousands of protesters piled once again onto the streets of the Algerian capital and other cities Friday with many rejecting the army chief’s call for presidential elections before the end of the year. This week’s pro-democracy protest, the 29th in a row, is seen as a test of the continued strength of the movement and a way to gauge the temperature of Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah’s call this week to set a date by September 15 for presidential elections. That would mean voting would be held by law 90 days later - in mid-December. Algeria has been without an elected president since protesters, helped by the army chief, forced Abdelaziz Bouteflika ...10th president-for-life of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and served on his third or four terms. When he announced for the fifth, or maybe it was the sixth, visibly doddering, a grateful nation rose up in its wrath and threw him out... to resign in early April. Nationwide demonstrations started on February 22 to protest plans by Bouteflika, who was rarely seen in public since a 2013 stroke, to seek a fifth mandate. His administration was mired in corruption and top figures have since been imprisoned, along with leading industrialists. Protesters now seek a democratic government and want a say in how to achieve that goal. Many opposition politicians are withholding judgment on Gaid Salah’s call for quick elections while others fear that he is seeking a return of a system they reject. In the absence of an elected president, Gaid Salah has positioned himself as the country’s main authority figure, and sends out messages to Algerians via his numerous speeches to soldiers during visits to barracks. Many Algerians want a transition period to work out how to proceed, while others want elections but with conditions. Hundreds of police were posted, like each week, around downtown Algiers on Friday. Chants included "We refuse to be led by Gaid Salah" and "We’re sick of generals." Demonstrations were also held in a number of other cities, including the Kabyle capital of blood-soaked Tizi Ouzou, east of Algiers. And demonstrators demanded "a civilian and democratic nation" in the port city of Oran. In Algiers, some carried signs bearing the portraits of people imprisoned for "political opinions," including Lakhdar Bouregaa, 86, a veteran of Algeria’s independence war against La Belle France, who had joined protesters. "Today, the crowd is bigger than recent Fridays ... It’s a response to the discourse of Gaid Salah," Zine Cherfaoui, a commentator with the daily El Watan, said in an interview.

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Africa North

Algeria busts terrorists bunkers, arrests suspected terrorists

2017-01-22

[NEWS.XINHUANET] Algerian anti-terrorism troops on Friday discovered a load of war weapons in the province of Tamanrasset, near the Malian border, while a group of six terror-supporting individuals were nabbed Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! in the province of corpse-littered Boumerdes, defense ministry said on Saturday. Army troops deployed near the border with Mali discovered a terror bunker containing 22 war weapons and ammunition, said the ministry. Rocket launchers, machine guns of different calibers, and ammunition were retrieved. This operation shows the commitment and determination of the People's National Army to secure the border and foil any attempt harming the integrity and security of national territory, the ministry said. Elsewhere, in the northern province of corpse-littered Boumerdes, 55 km east of Algiers, six individuals were arrested over charges of providing support to terrorist groups. This operation was conducted by joint security forces, as part of counter-terrorism efforts of army troops, the ministry said. Located in a region plagued by unprecedented security and political instability, Algeria faces ongoing terrorist threats. A few faceless myrmidons affiliated to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and recently established Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... affiliate group of Caliphate Soldiers are still taking refuge in the woods of central provinces, including Bouira, corpse-littered Boumerdes and blood-stained Tizi Ouzou east of Algiers in addition to desert areas near the troubled Libya and Mali.

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Africa North

AQIM Announces Death Of Prominent Commander In Clash In Tizi Ouzou

2016-07-22

[ENT.SITEINTELGROUP] Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) announced the death of a prominent commander, Abu Khaythama (Ahmed Jabri), in a clash in Bouzeguène in Algeria's blood-stained Tizi Ouzou province.

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Africa North

Algerian Army Intensifies Operations to Thwart ISIS

2016-05-22

Algeria- The Ministry of National Defense in Algeria announced on Friday that the national army had reportedly killed an extremist at the Bouïra area, a tribal region east of the capital city. The extremist was killed by a military operation which had been launched a week ago, leaving three extremists dead. The army has stepped up its activities in Bouïra after the military authorities received information indicating ISIS sleeper cells being present in the area. Special forces, partaking in the military campaign, were seen approaching thick forest zones believed to be the terrorists’ hideout. It was at the same location that a French hiker was abducted in September 2014. The national army had reportedly killed, in 2014, ISIS prominent leader Abdelmalek Kore who was allegedly responsible for the kidnap. Three girls have recently escaped from Bouïra to join ISIS in Libya. All three of them are believed to be wives of Algerian militants who were killed by the national army in the past. On the other hand, the national army announced destroying three terrorist hideouts and neutralizing explosive mines in the Tizi Ouzou province, located 100 kilometers away from the capital. Tizi Ouzou is known for containing al Qaeda strongholds in the Islamic Maghreb. Abdelmalek Droukdel leader of the Algerian Islamic militant group Al-Qaeda, who has been chased by military intelligence since 2005, is also assumed to be sited there. The highly tribal area of Tizi Ouzou recently has been experiencing increased security measures aiming to foil any sleeper cells sought for recruitment. The terrorist rings have been gradually terminated over the last few years. Security reports show that Libyan ISIS members have been transferring units into tribal zones, in hopes of rebooting what they call “Jihad” activities. Border regulation authorities note Libya as an untold threat, which led thousands of army soldiers to line up across borders in order to prevent terrorists from crossing over or traffic arms into Algeria. Minister of Maghreb Affairs, African Union and Arab League Abdelkader Messahel discussed terrorism crossing the borders shared by Algeria, Libya and Tunisia in his meeting with British diplomat Mark Lyall Grant. When Messahel spoke to media, he mentioned that the two-days long meeting had delved into security details and has sought out solutions for posed threats. The state-of-affairs of the Sahel area- the biogeographic zone of transition in Africa between the Sahara Desert to the north and the Sudanian Savanna to the south- currently has the focus of ongoing deliberations with the British delegation. Terrorism, organized crime, border control and extremist groups such as ISIS, al Qaeda and Boko Haram, said Messahel.

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Africa North

North African al-Qaeda says top figure killed in ambush

2015-12-29

Some days you get the bear, some days the bear gets you... The North African affiliate of al-Qaida says one of its leading figures has been killed in an ambush by Algerian soldiers. Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, says that Abu al-Hassan Rachid al-Bulaydi, head of the Sharia Committee, was killed on Friday “as a result of an insidious ambush by the apostates,” according to a statement translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. The statement said he was killed in the Tizi Ouzou region east of Algiers. The Algerian Defense Ministry said two “dangerous terrorists” had been killed Friday in another part of Tizi Ouzou, and it wasn’t clear whether al-Bulaydi was one of the two. AQIM leader Abdelmalek Droukdel, is thought to be holed up in the mountainous Tizi Ouzou region. AQIM is blamed for sporadic attacks on soldiers.

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Africa North

Algeria targets Tizi Ouzou terrorists

2014-08-16

[MAGHAREBIA] The Algerian army this week began a large-scale operation to eliminate the last remaining terrorist pockets in Tizi Ouzou wilaya, Liberte reported on Thursday (August 14th). ANP troops are conducting airstrikes in the rugged Yakouren region. The operation was launched earlier this week, following information from local sources about the presence of a terrorist group in the area.

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Africa North

Tizi Ouzou man kidnapped

2014-07-16

[MAGHAREBIA] A 70-year-old man was kidnapped on Monday (July 14th) in the blood-stained Tizi Ouzou village of Beni Zmenzer, Tout sur l'Algerie reported. In January, a 38-year-old merchant from the same region was killed by his kidnappers. Some 80 cases of kidnapping were registered in the Algerian province since 2005. Many hostages were freed unharmed, thanks to citizens' mobilisation.

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Africa North

Algeria arrests 10 terror suspects

2014-05-20

[MAGHAREBIA] Algerian security services arrested 10 men on charges of providing support to terrorists in Bouira, Tizi Ouzou and Boumerdes, El Watan reported on Sunday (May 18th). Four suspects are from M'sila and six are from Ouled Addi Guebala.

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Africa North

Nine 'Terrorists' Killed near Algeria-Mali Border

2014-05-09

[AnNahar] Algerian armed forces killed nine armed Islamists near the Malian border on Monday, the defense ministry said. The "terrorist group of nine criminals" died after festivities with the army in the Taoundert border area, 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Tin Zaoutine in Tamanrasset province, the APS news agency quoted a ministry statement as saying. It said eight automatic Kalashnikov-type rifles, an RPG-7 rocket launcher technical equipment and a "large amount" of ammunition were seized. The clampdown came after "effective use of information on suspicious movements of a terrorist group," said the statement. On Thursday, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) had grabbed credit for an April ambush in Algeria's restive Kabylie region that killed 11 soldiers. The attack was the deadliest on the military in years and came two days after ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika ... 10th president of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term. Maybe it's the fifth. He'll likely die in office of old age... was re-elected for a fourth term. The 77-year-old, who had cast his vote from a wheelchair, has long been seen as the leader who helped restore stability to Algeria after the devastating civil war of the 1990s. Islamist-linked violence rocked Algeria in the 1990s but has declined considerably in recent years, although jihadists still operate in the mountainous Kabylie region. The previously biggest attack there by Islamist groups was in April 2011, when 10 soldiers were killed at a military post in Azazga, east of the regional capital blood-stained Tizi Ouzou.

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Africa North

Qaida Group Claims Algeria Attack that Killed 11 Soldiers

2014-05-02

[AnNahar] Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) grabbed credit Thursday for an April ambush in Algeria's restive Kabylie region that killed 11 soldiers. "On the night of April 19, mujahedeen ambushed an army convoy in the Iboudrarene region... The toll was around 30 soldiers killed or maimed, some of them seriously," said a statement posted online. At the time, a security source said gunnies in the AQIM bastion of Iboudrarene, east of Algiers, had ambushed the convoy and killed 11 soldiers and maimed five others. The attack was the deadliest on the military in years and came two days after ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika ... 10th president of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term. Maybe it's the fifth. He'll likely die in office of old age... was reelected for a fourth term. The 77-year-old, who had cast his vote from a wheelchair, has long been seen as the leader who helped restore stability to Algeria after the devastating civil war of the 1990s. The convoy was returning to barracks after helping to secure the election, during which festivities broke out in Kabylie between police and anti-Bouteflika youths. The AQIM statement said only one myrmidon was killed in the attack, identifying him as Abu Anas. Algerian officials said three died. Islamist-linked violence rocked Algeria in the 1990s but has declined considerably in recent years, although jihadists still operate in the mountainous Kabylie region. The previously biggest attack there by Islamist groups was in April 2011, when 10 soldiers were killed at a military post in Azazga, east of the regional capital blood-stained Tizi Ouzou.

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Africa North

Algerian Offensive Kills 2 Militants

2014-04-26

[An Nahar] Algerian soldiers have killed two armed Islamists and recovered weapons and ammunition in an operation 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of the capital, the defense ministry said Friday. The deaths came amid an ongoing hunt for Islamists linked to an attack in the rugged Kabylie region last Saturday in which 11 soldiers were killed. "The army succeeded in eliminating two hard boyz in the Gouraya region of Tipaza province," a statement on the ministry's website said. "Two Kalashnikov assault rifles, three home-made grenades and a large amount of ammunition were recovered." The pair were killed as part of an "anti-terrorist operation" launched after the 11 soldiers and three Death Eaters were killed in Kabylie just two days after a presidential election returned Abdelaziz Bouteflika ... 10th president of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term. Maybe it's the fifth. He'll likely die in office of old age... for a fourth term. The slain troops had been from a unit deployed as part of a nationwide security operation for the controversial leadership contest. Kabylie is a mountainous and wooded region east of Algiers and a bastion of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which regularly targets the security forces. Violence blamed on Islamists has declined considerably in recent years, but Death Eaters who battled the army during the civil war in the 1990s and later formed AQIM still operate in the Kabylie area. The last major attack by Islamist groups there was in April 2011, when 10 soldiers were killed at a military post in Azazga, east of regional capital blood-stained Tizi Ouzou.

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