Algeria announces state of emergency on Libyan border

Algeria seeks to exploit its military and security capabilities on its southern and eastern borders with its neighboring Libya to face the threat of terrorist groups active in the region. Observers expect that the terrorist elements will be able to flee to Algeria and Egypt, through the Libyan territory, after the escalation of tension within the Libyan territory.

The declaration of Algeria coincided with a state of high alert on its border with neighboring Libya, as well as with the countries experiencing security unrest in Mali and Niger, with the announcement of elements of terrorist organizations that they will leave the organization's strongholds in Syria and Iraq and heading to Libya.

The Algerian Ministry of Defense has deployed more than 20 monitoring centers in view of the major security unrest in Libyan territory and the recording of cases of infiltration in the Algerian border by suspicious persons coming from Libya during the month of Ramadan.

These security points will prevent the infiltration of terrorists through the desert. The Algerian army ordered residents living on the border not to move to each of the areas adjacent to the Bourj Baji Mukhtar and Ain Ghazzam, one of the most prominent black spots on the border due to high smuggling activity.

The Algerian army chief of staff,  Lieutenant-General Ahmed Qa'id Saleh, resumed his field visits to the border areas linking Algeria with a number of neighboring countries such as Mali, Niger and Libya, which are witnessing a marked increase in terrorist activity, smuggling gangs and trafficking networks. Saleh called on the military personnel to take responsibility in order to be ready to respond to any emergency. He also stressed the importance and inevitability of improving the training and preparation of the armed forces in all its components.