عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Algeria: Tebboune Rules Out Running for Presidency For a Second Term

Abdelmadjid Tebboune swearing in at the Algerian capital on December 19, 2019 (Reuters)
Abdelmadjid Tebboune swearing in at the Algerian capital on December 19, 2019 (Reuters)
TT
TT

Algeria: Tebboune Rules Out Running for Presidency For a Second Term

Abdelmadjid Tebboune swearing in at the Algerian capital on December 19, 2019 (Reuters)
Abdelmadjid Tebboune swearing in at the Algerian capital on December 19, 2019 (Reuters)

Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has ruled out remaining in power, saying that new conditions must be met to consider running for a second term.

Tebboune was elected President on December 12, 2019, for a five-year term, succeeding Abdelaziz Bouteflika who resigned in 2019 under the pressure of popular movements and the army leadership.

In an interview with the French daily, L'Opinion, published on Monday, Tebboune said he is against any classic plan, pointing out that he has earlier pledged not to create a political party.

However, he said he needs a popular base to be able to implement his presidential agenda.

“In principle, I was elected for one term, and by the end of this mandate, I hope to obtain a peaceful situation in which social and economic problems are partially resolved.”

Tebboune announced further measures to appease and release of Hirak detainees.

He pointed to the importance of the opposition and civil society but stressed that the opposition shall not be expressed through insults and calls for an uprising.

“I seek attaining a consensual and permanent constitution that defines the president’s powers and doesn’t allow the manipulation of texts to immortalize power or serve personal agendas,” he added.

Tebboune said that the new constitution will put an end to past perversions by limiting the president’s role and bolstering the parliament’s censorial role over the executive branch, as well as public freedoms.

In other news, retired Major General Ali Ghediri, who is also a former official in the Defense Ministry, began on Monday a hunger strike in his prison against classifying a charge against him as a “crime.”

Meanwhile, his defense team demanded that he be treated like like other political activists who were handed similar charges.

Ghediri’s lawyer Khaled Bourayou told Asharq Al-Awsat that his client is forced to make this move so that his cries are heard by higher authorities, stressing that he is innocent of the charge of weakening the army’s morale.

Bourayou pointed out that the former Major General fulfills all the conditions to benefit from a temporary release, yet the accusation chamber in the Algiers Judicial Council (Court of Appeal) has rejected the request for the third time.

Ghediri, 65, has been in pretrial detention since June 2019 and was arrested for unknown reasons.

His advocates said that former Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaid Salah, who died in late 2019, was behind his arrest.

The prosecution accused him of “treason and spying for the benefit of foreign powers” and “attempting to weaken the army’s morale.”

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Israeli Army is Setting Up Rapid Response Unit on Border with Syria

Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)
Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)
TT
TT

Israeli Army is Setting Up Rapid Response Unit on Border with Syria

Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)
Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles in the eastern part of Aleppo province, in Syria, on Sunday. (Aref Tammawi/AFP)

The Israeli military has announced the formation of a special rapid response unit in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights to fend off threats from Syria, when necessary.

Commander of the 210th Bashan Division Lieutenant Colonel Yair Palai said the unit would operate as an effective attack force capable to launch in seconds and prevent threats on Israel similar to the one Hamas launched on October 7, 2023.

“The Unit will be prepared 24 hours a day, seven days a week, regardless of events,” he said.

“In the case of any security incident, the Unit will strike the enemy mercilessly. There is no possibility of failure, because this unit depends on constant vigilance,” Palai said.

The unit, which is comprised of elite soldiers from reconnaissance units and special reserve units, will operate under the 210th Division.

Sources said the unit has fully mobilized and operated continuously over the past three months.

Its goal was initially to counter Iranian, Syrian, Yemeni, Iraqi or other militias that might operate from the Golan against Jewish settlements there.

But recent developments in Syria compelled the army to prepare for any additional threats.

Last week, Syrian army soldiers were killed in a major attack by opposition fighters led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, who swept into the city of Aleppo in the northwest, forcing the military to redeploy in the biggest challenge to President Bashar Assad in years.

On Tuesday, Haaretz said the Israeli military fears that amid the Syrian opposition assault and their taking over of military sites belonging to the Assad regime in the country, chemical weapons could fall into the wrong hands.

If such weapons fall into the hands of the opposition fighters or Iranian militias, Israel would have to act in a way that “may affect Syria and the entire Middle East,” according to Haaretz.

The report said that after the country's civil war, Assad tried to rebuild his chemical weapons production facilities, with most having been removed from Syria under an international agreement. But a substantial part of the chemical weapons project, particularly the knowledge accumulated over the years, still remains in Assad's hands.

Haaretz wrote that Israel has relayed messages to the Syrian regime via the Russians insisting that Assad assert his sovereignty and bar Iran from operating from within Syria.

“The army is monitoring with concern the surprise Syrian rebel offensive on Assad strongholds in Syria that began last week,” it said.

Also, intelligence officials believe that while the Syrian president's standing has been weakened, Iran, with Russia's support, is exploiting the chaos in order to send in tens of thousands of fighters from the armed militias that support it.

According to Haaretz, the army's current estimate is that there are 40,000 Iranian militia fighters in Syria.

In tandem with the ceasefire with Hezbollah, the Israeli army has been carrying out strikes almost daily on the border between Syria and Lebanon in order to thwart attempts to smuggle weaponry destined for Hezbollah.

Although to date there is no firm evidence that the Iranian forces plan to station themselves in Damascus, the newspaper said one Israeli diplomatic official involved in the discussions referred to this on Sunday as a known fact. “Iran has begun to send an influx of forces into Syria in an attempt to aid Assad and suppress the revolt,” he said.