2024-04-07 20:43:32
The Algerian army carried out a live ammunition maneuver on its southern border overlooking the Sahel region, in exercises aimed at demonstrating the army’s capabilities to confront any military threat.
The Algerian Ministry of Defense said in a statement, “On Tuesday, February 27, in the Sixth Military Region, the Chief of Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Saeed Chengriha, supervised the implementation of a live ammunition tactical exercise called Whirlwind of the Haggar 2024.”
The name “Al-Haggar” was chosen in reference to a difficult mountain range located in the state of Tamanrasset in the far south-east of Algeria, on the border with the countries of Niger and Mali. The Ministry of Defense statement added that “the exercise was carried out by units from the operational sector called “Burj Baji Mokhtar,” supported by units of various weapons. It included a landing operation for a detachment of special forces and a parachute landing with the mission of destroying unconventional enemy forces, in addition to the operation of refueling combat aircraft by air.”
The presence of the Chief of Staff in person at the southern border, and the coincidence of the “Al-Haggar” maneuver with the political and security developments in the Sahel countries, indicate that the Algerian government has fears of the deterioration of the security situation and also wants to send military and political messages in the region.
Relations between Algeria and Bamako have witnessed a noticeable deterioration since the military coup in the State of Mali in 2021, led by Colonel Assimi Goita, as Algeria adhered to the principle of non-interference in the affairs of other countries in the beginning, and called for the necessity of finding diplomatic solutions, but its position has changed since France’s withdrawal and the spread of news about the assistance of… The Military Council in Mali with the Russian “Wagner” group and its direction to help the Malian army in the north in the region of the Azawad and Tuareg Amazigh tribes, where Algeria is popular due to the government’s good relations with the tribes of the region.
It is worth noting that Algeria was a sponsor of the reconciliation agreement in northern Mali that was concluded with the Tuareg tribes in 2015. Tensions with the Malian authorities subsided when the military decided to cancel this agreement and accused Algeria of interfering in the internal affairs of Mali.
Observers believe that the severity of the statements coming from Mali and even from the new Nigerien authorities that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, another ally of Algeria, forced the Algerian authorities to implement these military maneuvers, which also come in light of unprecedented security tensions between Algeria’s allies from the Azawad Movements and the Malian army, which Supported by Wagner, the coup soldiers in Bamako decided to pursue the Tuareg in the north until the Algerian border.
The military exercises can be read, on the one hand, in the desire of the Algerian authorities to send a message to the military authorities in Mali, which began to issue strong statements to say that the Tuareg minority present in Algeria and on the borders of the Sahara is considered national security and cannot be dealt with without Algerian approval, and there is a second message to all The countries of the Sahel region and their supporters claim that the Algerian army is among the most powerful in Africa and can protect its borders if security violations occur.
The other message has an international dimension and is related to fears of the return of the activity of armed terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda to the Sahara region, after warnings issued by both the United States and Spain to their citizens to be careful and not to venture into the Algerian sub-Saharan region.
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2024-04-07 20:43:32