Algeria- state from the north of Africa, in the region named Maghreb

 

Algeria- state from the north of Africa, in the region named Maghreb, part of which are also Morocco and Tunisia, has been confronting with a civil war for the past 20 years that pitted the Islamic fundamentalist movement the Islamic Salvation Front (they had as an objective the transformation of Algeria into an Islamic republic like Iran) against the governments instated by the National Liberation Front.

Although they won the 1991 elections, the ISF could not seize power because France’s and the EU’s interests in the petrol and especially the Algerian gas, but also in the political security of the area. A civil war between the ISF supporters and the government forces, causing over 200 000 casualties.

After 1999, with Abdelaziz Bouteflika winning the elections, guerilla groups were urged to lay down arms and until 2002, great efforts are made to lower the number of rebel forces and terrorist attacks.

Another sensitive moment for the frail Algerian democracy was the reformatory current induced by the Arab Spring beginning with 2011, which led to protests and riots whose impact was reduced by the intelligent measures taken by the government. This way, the destabilization of the state and the fall of the government, as it had happened in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, were avoided.

As Al Qaeda’s and ISIS’s power rise in the north of Africa, in Algeria appears the terrorist organization Al Mourabitoun, part of a larger group, the Islamic Maghreb, which announces its belonging to Al Qaeda. This rebel organization unleashes a series of terrorist attacks leading to hostage crisis on some oil installations in the south of Algeria, but also on some Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger) which causes a temporary drought of gas deliveries and implicitly economy and finance problems.

These acts of terrorism, which affected the Maghreb society, lead to disequilibrium in the south of Algeria and the entire Sahara desert and worsened the relationship with its neighbors. Another reason for this is that in the Al Mourabitoun group exist Tuareg and Berber people that do not care about borders and have their own agenda in regards to armed guerilla warfare.

Also, in the west of the country exist Sahrawi refugee camps from West Sahara, better described as cities because they were founded over 40 years ago, that did not accept the Moroccan dominance in the neighboring state.

Algeria has in this ‘frozen’ conflict the statute of refugee country, not being suspected for helping the West Saharan troops. It also has a dispute over the border with Libya in the south west part of the country, as Libya claims that territory as its own due to the high oil and gas potential the region has, as well as with Morocco over the whole north west border, near the Atlas Mountain Range.