Algeria conducts 22 security drills in a year

The Algerian army conducted 22 drills using live fire in different parts of the country between August 2016 and July this year, Anadolu reported on Tuesday. The drills are to prepare the country for expected security threats.

According to local officials, this intensification of military activity was based upon “security and intelligence” information about security threats. They noted that the intelligence covered “internal and external terrorist” attacks. The drills, explained officials, send a message that the Algerian army is “always ready” to face any threat.

The last drill was held on 24 July and was supervised by the Chief of Staff; thousands of soldiers and officers took part in an area close to the border with the disputed Western Sahara. An exercise conducted in May included naval, air force and ground troops and was the biggest to-date. It was conducted less than 80km from the land border with Libya.

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“The Algerian army is expecting and preparing for a confrontation with threats from different sources,” explained Algerian security expert Mohamed Tawati. He noted that the main source is the chaos in neighbouring Libya, which is run by two governments and many armed groups which have been fighting since the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.