Algeria responds firmly to escalating crisis in Mali after coordinated jihadist attacks
via Algérie3603 min read
Algeria has issued a strong response to the escalating crisis in Mali, following coordinated jihadist attacks across the country. The Malian Minister of Defense was killed in a truck bomb attack, and the leader of the junta, Assimi Goïta, has not been seen or heard from since the hostilities began. Algeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf, reaffirmed Algeria's clear and consistent position, emphasizing support for Mali's unity, territory, people, and institutions. Algeria also unequivocally rejects all forms of terrorism, drawing on its own difficult experience with the phenomenon. Furthermore, Algeria calls for strengthening national cohesion within Mali, viewing it as the best defense against terrorism. The coordinated attacks by the Azawad Liberation Front and the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims targeted strategic positions of the ruling junta.
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Must ReadA network of 11 individuals, including five women, has been placed in provisional detention by the Sidi M'Hamed correctional court in Algeria. They are accused of forging nationality certificates, biometric passports, biometric identity cards, and driver's licenses for foreign nationals residing illegally in Algeria. The investigation began after reliable information indicated forgery operations involving official documents, particularly birth certificates, within a civil registry office in Algiers. Police investigations led to the discovery of several forged birth certificates and nationality certificates used to fraudulently obtain passports for foreign nationals. During searches, authorities seized 16 forged Algerian nationality certificates, 11 counterfeit biometric passports, three forged biometric identity cards, two forged driver's licenses, and two forged land books. The suspects have been charged with forgery and the use of forged official documents. In a separate incident, four individuals were arrested in Algiers for cellphone theft. The suspects were identified after a video circulated on social media showing two of them stealing a phone at a bus stop. Police intensified surveillance, leading to the arrest of two suspects on a bus as they attempted another theft. These two admitted their involvement, implicating two others who were subsequently arrested. All four suspects were known to judicial services. Police seized 16 cellphones, 29,000 Algerian dinars, a digit
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