Bouteflika orders government to face regional problems

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika yesterday ordered the government to face the ongoing security, diplomatic and humanitarian situation in the region.

In a statement issued after a meeting he chaired with senior government officials, Bouteflika said: “The meeting has culminated in presidential orders concerning mainly the ​​security, diplomatic and humanitarian situations which will enable our country to face them while respecting the state’s fundamental principles and preserve its national interests.”

No details were given regarding how the government will move to address the situation in the region.

The meeting comes two days after an attack against a gas plant in the south of the country. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for the violence.

Security sources said the group responsible for the attack had infiltrated across the borders from Mali.

Algeria is surrounded by several countries experiencing political and security unrest mainly Libya, with which its shares nearly 1,000km of land border.

Algeria has repeatedly expressed its opposition for foreign military intervention in the country and called to support political reconciliation between the parties there.