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Algeria President Vows to Recover Money Looted Abroad

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune vows to recover “gang funds.” (Reuters)
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune vows to recover “gang funds.” (Reuters)
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Algeria President Vows to Recover Money Looted Abroad

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune vows to recover “gang funds.” (Reuters)
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune vows to recover “gang funds.” (Reuters)

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has vowed to recover funds smuggled abroad by government officials during former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s rule.

Tebboune stressed he would begin confiscating property and money obtained within Algeria, in an implicit reference to two prime ministers, several former ministers, and businessmen, who have been jailed on corruption charges.

His remarks were made during an interview with two newspapers at the presidential headquarters on Sunday evening that was broadcast on state television.

He referred to legal measures taken to contact governments of several countries where the deposits of convicted officials and others wanted by the judiciary are kept.

The amount and location of the transferred money is not yet specified neither is the amount money illegally obtained in Algeria.

A group of officials close to Bouteflika is involved in the “looted money” case. These are topped by former Premiers Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal and several ministers, including former Industry Minister Abdesselam Bouchouareb residing abroad, as well as former intelligence chiefs Mohamed Mediene, Bachir Tartag and Said Bouteflika.

Tebboune said during the presidential election campaign in late 2019 that he had “a plan to recover the smuggled money.” However, his opponents have questioned the seriousness of his pledges in this regard.

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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
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MSF Suspends Operations at Key Hospital in Sudan's Capital

FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)
FILE - South Sudanese people sit outside a nutrition clinic at a transit center in Renk, South Sudan, on May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

Medical aid agency MSF said on Friday it has been forced to suspend its activities at one of the few remaining hospitals in southern Khartoum due to repeated attacks, cutting off yet another lifeline for those who remain in the Sudanese capital.
War has been raging in Sudan since April 2023, sparked by a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule, triggering the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.
The hospital, which lies in territory controlled by the RSF, helped treat the victims of frequent airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces, as well as hundreds of malnourished women and children in an area where two neighborhoods have been judged at risk of famine, reported Reuters.
"In the 20 months MSF teams have worked alongside hospital staff and volunteers, Bashair Hospital has experienced repeated incidents of armed fighters entering the hospital with weapons and threatening medical staff, often demanding fighters be treated before other patients," MSF said in a statement.
"Despite extensive engagements with all stakeholders, these attacks have continued in recent months. MSF has now taken the very difficult decision to suspend all medical activities in the hospital."
The fighting in Sudan has cut off up to 80% of hospitals in conflict areas, where millions who cannot afford to escape the violence remain. Civilians face frequent air and artillery fire and hunger as supplies are blocked by both warring parties and prices skyrocket.
Medical facilities, including MSF-supported ones that have suspended operations, have frequently come under attack by RSF soldiers demanding treatment or looting supplies. Bashair Hospital has served more than 25,000 people, MSF said, including 9,000 hurt by blasts, gunshot wounds, and other violence.
"Sometimes dozens of people arrived at the hospital at the same time after shelling or airstrikes on residential areas and markets," MSF said in the statement, citing an incident on Sunday where an airstrike one kilometer away drove 50 people to the emergency room, 12 of them already dead.