President Emmanuel Macron’s veiled threat, that he is no longer prepared to play Algeria’s ‘double game’ of state terrorism, could have serious implications for the country.

Menas Associates’ publications over the last decade, and especially Sahara Focus, have reported on how the Département du Renseignement et de la Sécurité (DRS) has been behind much of the region’s terrorism, not only in the 1990s but also throughout a large part of the Bouteflika era. This has been known to Algeria’s allies, who have tended to either deny or ignore it. The subject has been something of a taboo.

The DRS has not only well-infiltrated all the region’s terrorist groups, but has actually established some of them, notably: Al Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Mouvement pour l’unicité et le jihad en Afrique de l’Ouest (MUJAO), and Iyad ag Ghali’s Ansar al-Din, which is now the main jihadist group operating in Mali and other parts of the Sahel.

Some might say that this was all in the past. Over the last few months, however, French military commanders in the Sahel have been increasingly angered at having their hands metaphorically tied. They see French soldiers — 17 since the French intervention began in January 2013 — being killed by jihadists, who they cannot pursue as they cross the border into Algeria where they are given sanctuary. These are jihadists belonging to Iyad ag Ghali’s Ansar al Din which remains the DRS’ main pawn in Mali.

We do not know what pressure, if any, has been placed on Macron by the French military. He is, however, sending out messages which are causing anxiety in Algiers. On 19 May he flew to the Malian town of Gao to address the large French military contingent that is based there. He told the troops that he was fully behind them and that he would continue the fight against terrorism in Mali and the Sahel until it was eradicated.

Macron telephoned President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on the eve of his departure from Paris on 18 May, notifying him of his intended visit to Gao, and of his determination to rid the Sahel of terrorism. ‘I told him […] of my wish to be able to speak with Algeria in a very frank manner,’ Macron said, and noted that ‘there was nothing to confirm Algiers’ alleged support of Iyad Ag Ghali’.  … [article continues] …

This is an excerpt from an article in the latest edition of our Algeria Politics & Security publication.