Algeria warns of retaliation over alleged secret French plot
Algeria has charged French Ambassador Stephane Romatet to address accusations of “hostile plans” by the French intelligence services, according to Anadolu on December 15th.
The Algerian government told Romatet that it treats such actions as “attacks on its sovereignty” and vowed that they wouldn’t “go unanswered”.
Last week the Algerian state-run newspaper El Moudjahid reported that French intelligence was involved in destabilising campaigns in the country, recruiting former Algerian militants to inflame discord.
The report cited the case of 35-year-old Algerian Mohamed Amine Aissaoui, a former Islamic State fighter, who was released from Algerian prison in 2019, according to French news outlet Le Figaro.
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A recent Algerian documentary tells how the ex-jihadist was contacted by French intelligence in 2022, before meeting a representative from the secretive Artemis Association.
According to Aissaoui, the French tasked him with collecting information on Islamists and migrant smugglers in his native region Tipaza, while plans to send him to join an armed militia in Niger were cancelled following the 2023 coup.
In the film, Aissaoui says his story “clearly reveals a deep resentment as well as the extent of the plots and manoeuvres hatched against Algeria”
“Thanks to the awareness of the Algerian people and the cohesion of the internal front as well as the vigilance and professionalism of the security services, all attempts to undermine the security and stability of our country have been thwarted.”
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French outlet L’Expression had already written about a plot in May 2023, where “influential members of the Mossad, five heads of the French intelligence services as well as twelve elements of the Moroccan services” met Tel Aviv for “the development of a plan to destabilize Algeria”.
Tensions between the two countries have escalated since France’s official recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, denying the cause of the Algerian-backed Polisario Front who are fighting for their own state in the region.
Anadolu and Le Figaro
