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Algeria appoints new anti-corruption Gendarmerie commander 

August 5, 2020 at 9:23 am

President of Algeria Abdelmadjid Tebboune holds a press conference in Algiers, Algeria on 13 December 2019 [Farouk Batiche/Anadolu Agency]

Algeria’s President Abdelmajid Tebboune appointed a new commander for the National Gendarmerie Forces on Tuesday. Major General Nour Al-Jadin Qawasimia will be in charge of investigating corruption cases that have led to the arrest of officials and businessmen in the North African country. He succeeds General Abdel Rahman Arar, who has retired.

Qawasimia was the chief of staff of the National Gendarmerie before his new appointment as commander. The National Gendarmerie in Algeria is part of the Ministry of Defence, but it does some police duties outside the cities. It also has a department specialising in security investigations in corruption cases and other crimes, at which time it operates under the supervision of the judiciary.

It was the National Gendarmerie which undertook an investigation into corruption cases involving officials and businessmen during the era of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

READ: Algeria says to investigate actions targeting stability

Tebboune has also appointed Major General Mahmoud Laraba as the new commander of the Air Force, to succeed Major Hamid Boumaiza. The changes are part of a series among officers of senior rank in the armed forces.

In April, the monthly magazine Al Jaish confirmed that “There is great harmony between the institution of the presidency and the national army, which has expressed its confidence in the presidency in all the difficult moments that the country has gone through.”