The military exercise which responds to the sweet name of “Bouclier du désert or Desert Shield 2022” which should bring together elements of the Russian and Algerian armies next Tuesday a few kilometers from the Moroccan border (Columbus Béchar region) seems, unless it does not drift towards a “Desert Storm” a priori harmless by the spirit it conveys. But this event above all illustrates a degree of military cooperation between Algiers and Moscow never reached before.
Since Vladimir Putin’s first visit to Algiers in 2006, the Algerian defense budget has almost tripled and 80% of military equipment imported since 2017 has come from Russia. In this context, the rivalry between Morocco, pro-European and close to the United States, and Algeria, historical ally of Russia, continues to grow without there being any visibility where it can lead Algiers and Rabat.
Indeed, this joint Russian-Algerian exercise of a dozen days called “fight against terrorism” should put into practice the anti-terrorist tactics of the two armies in desert and arid environments. This is the first time that Algeria has hosted such an exercise on “its territory”. This will take place on the base of Hammaguir, whose Evian agreements between France and Algeria had extended the existence of five years after independence so that the French army can continue to test rockets and missiles.
But on the other hand, it is not the first time that the senile regime of the capos of Algiers welcomes Russian “soldiers” on its territory, since unofficial mercenaries of the “private company” Wagner, are already there. at work, with storefront (fechouka). The group is also funded by Algeria. He would be paid, just to take care of Mali at around 9.15 million euros per month and the Algerian desert is entirely dedicated to him to wage the war he would wage against several armed Islamist groups who rage in the vast regions. of the Sahel.
In Morocco, where the grand military maneuvers of Africa Lion took place last summer, the time is for vigilance, even if the Kingdom has obtained the assurance of the spokesperson for Russian Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, which underlined that these joint Russian-Algerian maneuvers “did not target any third country”. Third countries, there are perhaps at least three in the vicinity, but the closest is Morocco, whose borders with Algeria are only about fifty kilometers away.
This unprecedented degree of land military cooperation between Algiers and Moscow does not date from this event. Indeed, far from this region infested with jihadists, in thousands of kilometers of incandescent sands and rocks of the Sahara and the arid savannah of the Sahel, a year earlier, in October 2021, joint military maneuvers in the cold mountains of the Caucasus took place. For the first time, supported by tanks, drones and fighter bombers, nearly a hundred men from the Algerian People’s National Army (ANP) and as many riflemen from the Russian forces trained under the same theme, together , North Ossetia, Kremlin fortress in the North Caucasus.
This first land exercise since the Algerian war of independence, aimed to prepare to fight together terrorist groups, such as those that plague Mali and other Sahelian countries, neighbors of Algeria. Strangely, there is no question of the most important, that of the sequestered camps of Tindouf, the polisario in this case, which rages within the very interior of Algerian territory and which supplies practically all the terrorist groups with arms and men. of the Sahel region.
From the Algerian politician, there is nothing to expect. Everything is in the hands of the ANP. Indeed, the default Algerian president, just arrived and with an unpronounceable name, fails to keep the military establishment at bay in the same way as his predecessor did during his reign. Since the “late” General Ahmad Gaïd Salah violated the Algerian constitution and transferred the intelligence services to the armed forces, the senile of Algiers has never had the means to put pressure on the military leaders. On the contrary, he has become the puppet of generals in childbirth in Algiers.
In Algeria, the army would always be the first and main power, ahead of the politician. The independence of Algeria always gives income and legitimacy to the armed forces and it is not tomorrow the day before that this should stop to the detriment of Algeria and its people. The power exercised by the Algerian military command is one of the greatest obstacles that Algeria faces in moving to a democratic model and emerging from the whirlwind of social and economic crises.
Military governments have set up a parallel funding system in border areas where the senile presidency has little power, in order to profit from smuggling and petty crime that casually pays off big. From this perspective that Algerian society shuns, there is no other alternative than submission.