“Algeria will never accept a threat, regardless of the party that utters it or submit to anyone, whatever its power”, warned the Chief of Staff of the Algerian Army Said Chengriha in a speech delivered to Djanet at the Libyan border, on the sidelines of his working and inspection visit to the 4th Military Region.
Said Chengriha warned these “parties” and “anyone urged by their sick spirit and thirst for power, against damage to the reputation, security and territorial integrity of Algeria.”
The chief of staff did not name the parties concerned, but his warning came after reports released ten days ago about the deployment of Khalifa Haftar’s forces to the border with Algeria.
Khalifa Haftar’s troops who have difficult relations with Algeria have declared a border post as a closed military zone. A bellicose gesture towards Algiers plays a key role in finding a solution to the Libyan crisis.
In his speech, Said Chengriha promised a “fierce” and “resolute” response against any attempt to attack Algeria. He stated that Algeria, “strong due to its valiant army and its revolutionary people and fighting through the times, is anchored thanks to its glorious history, is nobler so that it is shaken by the insane and the reckless.”
The Algerian authorities have kept the border crossings between the two countries closed since May 2014 due to the security weakness in Libya and the danger of armed terrorist elements infiltrating the border.
Meanwhile, with the constitutional amendment made in Algeria on November 1, 2020, military intervention outside the country’s borders was paved.
In an interview with Al Jazeera in early June, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune revealed that Algeria was ready to intervene in Libya to prevent Tripoli from falling into the hands of Haftar’s troops. “We could not accept that a Maghreb and African country was occupied by these mercenaries,” he said.
