Algeria Frees Senior Generals Detained in Corruption Sweep

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is seen in Algiers, Algeria April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is seen in Algiers, Algeria April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
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Algeria Frees Senior Generals Detained in Corruption Sweep

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is seen in Algiers, Algeria April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is seen in Algiers, Algeria April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina

Algeria’s prosecutors freed six senior generals detained two weeks ago over charges of corruption and wrongdoing. The six are only a few of a large sweep, by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, that sacked dozens of officials.

The former commander of the National Gendarmerie, Maj. Gen. Manad Nuba, former commander of the 1st Military Region Major General Habib Shantouf, former commander of the second district Major Saeed Bay, former commander of the Fourth Military Region Major General Abdul Razzaq Sharif, and the Director of Finance of the Ministry of Defense Major, General Bujmaa Budwar, have walked out of military detention, a judiciary source told Asharq Al Awsat.

A martial law amendment allows military suspects to undergo litigation “on two phases,” just similar to civil courts, the source added.

In another scope, thousands of educational institutions in Algeria received “strict” instructions from Education Minister Nouria Benghabrit-Remaoun forbidding female educators and state employees from wearing the niqab to their respective workplaces.

This comes 15 days after the Ministry of the Interior ordered a niqab ban to be implemented by all civil servants.

Education sector officials and employees are obliged to follow instructions issued on the civil servant workplace dress code, an official statement said without directly noting that niqabs aren’t allowed anymore.

Benghabrit-Remaoun stressed that she is keen on implementing rules and requirements needed to ensure security in the workplace, which call for the swift identification of public servants.

No official statistics exist for the number of women wearing the niqab in the education sector, but it goes without saying only a few female civil servants in Algeria wear the religious head and face cover. Religious headdresses and niqabs are more popular in local areas known for their conservative character.



Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
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Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed Monday that those involved in a "heinous" suicide attack on a Damascus church a day earlier would face justice, calling for unity in the country.

The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and wounded 63, the health ministry said, raising an earlier toll of 22 killed.

The authorities said the attacker was affiliated with the Islamic State group.

"We promise... that we will work night and day, mobilising all our specialized security agencies, to capture all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and to bring them to justice," Sharaa said in a statement, AFP reported.

The attack "reminds us of the importance of solidarity and unity of the government and the people in facing all that threatens our nation's security and stability", he added.

Condemnation has continued to pour in from the international community after the attack -- the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.

It was also the first inside a church in Syria since the country's civil war erupted in 2011, according to a monitor, in a country where security remains one of the new authorities' greatest challenges.

Since the new authorities took power, the international community has repeatedly urged the government to protect minorities and ensure their participation in Syria's transition, particularly after sectarian violence in recent months.