ALGERIA-FRANCE: SAID CHENGRIHA ON A "SECRET MISSION' TO PARIS TO DISCUSS THE SAHEL ISSUE

ACCORDING to Jeune Afrique as a monthly monthly magazine of reference of the African continent, the head of the Algerian army paid in a secret way a visit to the French capital to discuss the new security situation in the Sahel, after the announcement of the end of the Barkhane.Operation 

This newspaper outlined on 15/06/2021 that the Algerian Army Chief of Staff Saïd Chengriha has been in Paris for a few days, as part of a "secret" mission, The objective of the visit is to discuss with the French authorities the new security situation in the Sahel, after the announcement by French President Emmanuel Macron of the end of Barkhane operation, as well as the role that Algeria could play in this context. Since the constitutional reform of November 2020, the Algerian parliament has been able to discuss sending troops abroad on the proposal of the head of state.

This magazine indicated that The Non-intervention outside national borders was until then a dogma of the Algerian army. In early June, in an interview with Qatari channel Al-Jazeera, the Algerian president confirmed that the National Army (NPA) had been ready to intervene in Libya during Marshal Khalifa Haftar's offensive against the capital Tripoli between 2019 and 2020.

Also ? Jeune Afrique reported that in January 2020, the Algerian presidency said the possible capture of the city by Haftar's troops was a "red line not to be crossed". The marshal finally had to withdraw from Tripolitania in the summer of 2020 after a series of setbacks

Algeria also views with concern the instability in Mali, and has strongly criticized the payment of ransoms to jihadist groups in the north of the country, as well as the release of hundreds of jihadists in exchange for that of hostages Soumaïla Cissé and Sophie Pétronin. According to Algiers, some of these jihadist elements have entered Algerian territory and threaten its national security.

In an interview with RFI radio on June 15, Ammar Belhimer, Algerian Minister of Communication and government spokesman, addressed the issue of the end of the Barkhane mission, and noted that "there are many more threats directed to the Sahel than at the start of the operation"."

He also spoke of the Algerian approach to the crisis in the Sahel: "Shouldn't we have consolidated the local state buildings and entities in the past, including providing military, security and logistical support to their armies and their security forces