Tag Archives: Algeria

Amnesty says arrests of Khaled Drareni, Ihsane El-Kadi, and Karim Tabbou are evidence of ‘chilling escalation’ in the clampdown on dissent. Authorities in Algeria have arrested two prominent journalists and a well-known opposition figure, just days before the country’s parliamentary election. Algeria is set to hold its first legislative election …

The leader of the Western Sahara independence movement, Brahim Ghali, returned to Algeria on Wednesday after spending more than a month in hospital in Spain – a stay which triggered a diplomatic row between Spain and Morocco. “He arrived safe and sound,” said Jalil Mohamed, the Polisario Front’s spokesman in …

Algeria will impose strict health measures on passengers when it partially resumes international flights next month, the prime minister’s office said on Monday. The North African country last week said it would reopen air borders on June 1, but with only five flights a day from and to three local …

Crackdown intensifies on pro-democracy Hirak movement by authorities. Several hundred protesters were arrested in Algeria as authorities ramp up efforts to quell a years-long protest movement that has demanded root-and-branch political reform. Said Salhi, head of the Algerian League for Human Rights, said about 800 people were detained in Algiers …

Tunisian security forces killed five suspected militants in the mountains near the border with Algeria on Monday, a Tunisian security official says. The operation, carried out by joint police and army forces in the Chaanabi mountains, is still continuing, he added. Six years ago an Islamic State terrorist group shot …

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Thursday said France will return the remains of 24 resistance fighters who were killed during its colonisation of the North African country. “Within a few hours Algerian military planes will fly in from France and land at the Houari Boumediene international airport with the remains …

Could Algeria soon send troops from its army, the pillar of the regime, to join peace-keeping missions led by the United Nations or African Union? President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has urged a constitutional change that would allow deployments abroad, signalling a departure from a military doctrine that has barred interventions outside …

French forces have killed the leader of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Algerian Abdelmalek Droukdel, in northern Mali, France’s defense minister said. Droukdel was killed on Thursday near the Algerian border, where the group has bases from which it has carried out attacks and abductions of Westerners in the …

Two main figures of Algeria’s “Hirak” protest movement will soon be freed at the president’s initiative, the leader of an opposition party said Tuesday. “President Abdelmadjid Tebboune assured me that he would use his constitutional prerogative to ensure that Karim Tabbou and Samir Benlarbi regain their freedom,” Sosiane Djilali said. …

Standing in front of a multi-story apartment building in the small Algerian town of Ouled Hedadj, clown Ninou and his partner shout advice through a megaphone: “Don’t go out, wash your hands!”

Iraq Iraq detected two new coronavirus patients, both of whom had recently visited Iran, the Health Ministry said on Monday, bringing the total cases recorded so far to 21. The two new cases were detected in Baghdad and had recently returned from Iran, the ministry said in a statement. The …

Hundreds of Algerians protested in front of parliament on Sunday against a proposed energy law that they say the caretaker government has no right to pass. The new law is aimed at attracting foreign investors to help Algeria strengthen its energy output, but would maintain a 49% limit on foreign …

Algeria’s powerful army chief has ordered buses and cars bringing protesters into the capital to be stopped and seized, the latest in a series of measures aimed at quelling big weekly demonstrations demanding a purge of the old ruling elite. “We have instructed the gendarmerie to … stop buses and …

Algeria’s interim leader has announced December 12 as the date for the presidential election. The move is in line with the army chief’s demand to fill the vacancy left when longtime leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika was pushed from the office more than five months ago. During an address to the North …

Tens of thousands of Algerians have marched in the capital to demand that the rest of the ruling elite follow former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in quitting power before any new election. The 30th consecutive Friday protest also included demands that the authorities release Karim Tabou, a prominent opposition leader who …

Tens of thousands of Algerians returned to the streets in the capital Algiers and other cities on Friday to demand radical political reforms and the departure of the ruling elite. Protesters are now seeking more freedoms and the removal of the remaining symbols of the old guard, after they forced …

Malaria has been eliminated from Algeria and Argentina, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, an important milestone in fighting the mosquito-borne disease. WHO said there were now 38 countries and territories that have been declared free of the disease, which has been making a comeback globally. “Algeria has …

As Algeria’s long-time president Abdelaziz Bouteflika is expected to submit a formal application to run for a fifth term on Sunday, people around the country have mobilized to protest his bid. Tens of thousands of Algerians have taken to the streets across the country to protest against what they claim …