There is serious unrest in the Algerian army which is coming from the sous-officier or non-commissioned officers (NCO) ranks. This is not new. We have been aware of it for at least four years which is why we have occasionally said that the loyalty of Algerian troops is in doubt. They almost certainly could not be counted on to act against their own people or possibly even against a foreign power.

Last week, we saw documentation — on the condition of anonymity — that is circulating among the disaffected ranks. What seems clear is that this unrest has increased, especially over the last few weeks, to the point where there is talk of action, or at least the search for a ‘green light’ that might encourage such action.

The cause of the unrest is not new: it is an increasing resentment and anger at a range of issues. Two, in particular, punctuate almost every statement.

One is resentment and anger at the geriatric state of most of the generals, along with their weakness, incompetence, corruption and arrogance. The epitome of such characteristics is the head of the army, General Ahmed Gaïd Salah himself. These generals are also seen as working against the interests of the country.

This resentment of the generals is compounded by the corruption associated with their sons. Many are also in the army but are usually kept at coastal staff colleges — e.g. Cherchell and Oran — on a three-year fast-track promotion cycle rather than the normal six.

The second issue is the appalling treatment that the whole sous-officer class receives from the generals and the wider army command. There appears to be a direct correlation between the worsening treatment of the ranks and the increasing suicide rate. Soldiers, some of whom have served 15-20 years, are saying they are losing more and more of their friends to suicide. A black mood hangs over many barracks.

Until now it was unclear what had intensified this anger and desire to act over the last few weeks. Some of our informants suggest it may have been the recent situation in the Cote d’Ivoire where troops took a similar situation into their own hands. Others say that the increasing suicide rate amongst soldiers — the extremely disturbing reason for which we have just received addtional documentary evidence — is the catalyst.

Our assessment is that the army chiefs are aware of this situation and are scared by it.

This is an excerpt from an article in our Algeria Politics & Security publication.