عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Algerian Army Chief of Staff Visits China to Diversify Military Partnerships

Algerian Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Said Chengriha meets with the Deputy Chief of the International Cooperation Office at the Chinese Ministry of Defense. (Algerian Ministry of Defense)
Algerian Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Said Chengriha meets with the Deputy Chief of the International Cooperation Office at the Chinese Ministry of Defense. (Algerian Ministry of Defense)
TT
TT

Algerian Army Chief of Staff Visits China to Diversify Military Partnerships

Algerian Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Said Chengriha meets with the Deputy Chief of the International Cooperation Office at the Chinese Ministry of Defense. (Algerian Ministry of Defense)
Algerian Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Said Chengriha meets with the Deputy Chief of the International Cooperation Office at the Chinese Ministry of Defense. (Algerian Ministry of Defense)

Algerian Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Said Chengriha arrived in China on Sunday on a visit aimed at strengthening ties of friendship and military cooperation between the two countries’ militaries, according to the Algerian Ministry of Defense.

Chengriha was welcomed at Beijing International Airport by Brigadier-General Jan Bao Chin, Deputy Chief of the International Cooperation Office (OIMC).

In a statement, the Ministry of Defense added that this visit will allow the two sides to discuss issues of mutual interest and means to boost military cooperation.

Observers view the visit as part of the Algerian army’s efforts to diversify partnerships in weapons and military equipment purchases.

In July, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune visited China and met with his counterpart Xi Jinping.

Tebboune said his country is taking serious strides to move to a new phase as a military, economic, and diplomatic power in Africa.

He described Algerian-Chinese ties as “very good” and considered China a “friendly country” that has become one of the world’s strongest in economy, military, and diplomacy.

Algiers and Beijing signed 19 cooperation agreements in various sectors during his visit.

In August, Chengriha visited Moscow and discussed with Director of the Military Cooperation Service of the Russian Federation Dmitry Shugayev a deal to sell military aircraft.

Chengriha was briefed on the latest equipment and technologies used in military aviation.

He visited the headquarters of the Aeronautical Technology Dynamics Company, where he examined the various latest equipment and technologies, including basic training for pilots and programs for simulation in the field of aviation.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Algeria ordered military equipment, including tanks, aircraft, and anti-aircraft defense systems.

A recent study published by the Stockholm Peace Research Institute in March 2023 revealed that Algeria is the third biggest importer of Russian weapons in the world after India and China. Russian weapons and military systems make up than 50% of Algeria’s arsenal.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Sudan Army Says Recaptures Key State Capital

Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP
Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP
TT
TT

Sudan Army Says Recaptures Key State Capital

Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP
Sudanese civilians displaced by offensive south of Khartoum earlier this year dream of returning to their homes after the regular army retakes territory - AFP

The Sudanese army said Saturday it had retaken a key state capital south of Khartoum from rival Rapid Support Forces who had held it for the past five months.

The Sennar state capital of Sinja is a strategic prize in the 19-month-old war between the regular army and the RSF as it lies on a key road linking army-controlled areas of eastern and central Sudan.

It posted footage on social media that it said had been filmed inside the main base in the city.

"Sinja has returned to the embrace of the nation," the information minister of the army-backed government, Khaled al-Aiser, said in a statement.

Aiser's office said armed forces chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had travelled to the city of Sennar, 60 kilometres (40 miles) to the north, on Saturday to "inspect the operation and celebrate the liberation of Sinja", AFP reported.

The RSF had taken the two cities in a lightning offensive in June that saw nearly 726,000 civilians flee, according to UN figures.

Human rights groups have said that those who were unwilling or unable to leave have faced months of arbitrary violence by RSF fighters.

Sinja teacher Abdullah al-Hassan spoke of his "indescribable joy" at seeing the army enter the city after "months of terror".

"At any moment, you were waiting for militia fighters to barge in and beat you or loot you," the 53-year-old told AFP by telephone.

Both sides in the Sudanese conflict have been accused of war crimes, including indiscriminately shelling homes, markets and hospitals.

The RSF has also been accused of summary executions, systematic sexual violence and rampant looting.

The RSF control nearly all of the vast western region of Darfur as well as large swathes of Kordofan in the south. They also hold much of the capital Khartoum and the key farming state of Al-Jazira to its south.

Since April 2023, the war has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted more than 11 million -- creating what the UN says is the world's largest displacement crisis.

From the eastern state of Gedaref -- where more than 1.1 million displaced people have sought refuge -- Asia Khedr, 46, said she hoped her family's ordeal might soon be at an end.

"We'll finally go home and say goodbye to this life of displacement and suffering," she told AFP.