Algeria inaugurates new airbase near border with Mali

Algeria has inaugurated a new airbase on its southern border with Mali and the Sahel region.

The Algerian army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Qayed Salih, inaugurated the airbase in the state of Tamanrasset near Mali.

Salih said the airbase represents an achievement which will “support the Algerian air forces’ capabilities”.

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The Algerian military has been strengthening its presence in the south, near the border with Mali, Niger and Libya, because of the fragility of the security situation in these countries and the escalating terrorist threats stemming from them.

This is also an effort to combat smuggling, illegal immigration and human trafficking in the south.