Algeria to Open Two Border Crossings with Mauritania Soon

Algerian Interior Minister Brahim Merad inspects works at one of the two crossings with Mauritania (Interior Ministry)
Algerian Interior Minister Brahim Merad inspects works at one of the two crossings with Mauritania (Interior Ministry)
TT

Algeria to Open Two Border Crossings with Mauritania Soon

Algerian Interior Minister Brahim Merad inspects works at one of the two crossings with Mauritania (Interior Ministry)
Algerian Interior Minister Brahim Merad inspects works at one of the two crossings with Mauritania (Interior Ministry)

Algerian Interior Minister Brahim Merad said on Saturday that the two fixed joint border crossings with Mauritania will open “soon.”

The two countries had previously announced that the border crossings would start operating in October 2023.

At the end of his visit to Tindouf, Merad said on Saturday that the progress of works at the two Algerian-Mauritanian border crossings has exceeded 99%, and therefore will be soon delivered.

He said the two crossings are highly necessary for trade exchanges between Algeria and Mauritania.

The Algerian government has a plan to develop trade with countries that share borders with Algeria, especially Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania.



Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
TT

Syria’s Al-Sharaa Says No to Arms Outside State Control

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (C) arrives for a meeing with visiting Druze officials from Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Damascus on December 22, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said his administration would announce the new structure of the defense ministry and military within days.

In a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday, al-Sharaa said that his administration would not allow for arms outside the control of the state.

An official source told Reuters on Saturday that Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, had been named as defense minister in the interim government.
Sharaa did not mention the appointment of a new defense minister on Sunday.
Sharaa discussed the form military institutions would take during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA said.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said last week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former opposition factions and officers who defected from Assad's army.

Earlier Sunday, Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt held talks with al-Sharaa in Damascus.

Jumblatt expressed hope that Lebanese-Syrian relations “will return to normal.”

“Syria was a source of concern and disturbance, and its interference in Lebanese affairs was negative,” al-Sharaa said, referring to the Assad government. “Syria will no longer be a case of negative interference in Lebanon," he added.