Algerian Army Rejects Constitutional Amendment on Foreign Military Operations

Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during the funeral of Algeria's military chief Lieutenant general Ahmed Gaed Salah in Algiers, Algeria (Reuters)
Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during the funeral of Algeria's military chief Lieutenant general Ahmed Gaed Salah in Algiers, Algeria (Reuters)
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Algerian Army Rejects Constitutional Amendment on Foreign Military Operations

Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during the funeral of Algeria's military chief Lieutenant general Ahmed Gaed Salah in Algiers, Algeria (Reuters)
Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune during the funeral of Algeria's military chief Lieutenant general Ahmed Gaed Salah in Algiers, Algeria (Reuters)

The Algerian army rejected the constitutional amendment, to be submitted for a referendum in two months, that would allow the military establishment to participate in operations outside the country to restore peace.

The army command suggested replacing the term “restoring peace” with “peacekeeping,” which observers interpreted as the military leadership’s rejection to involve the army in possible battles on foreign territories.

It proposed amending the article relating to this issue so that the mission is peacekeeping, within the framework of the principles and objectives of the United Nations, the African Union, and the Arab League.

The Ministry of National Defense submitted its remarks on the amendments to the presidency, knowing that the draft constitutional reforms have been approved by the National Assembly with 256 of the 462 members present.

The military establishment stressed that the participation of army units abroad may have consequences in terms of time and capabilities, which Algeria may not be able to control.

The army command also suggested the abolition of a paragraph in the constitution's preamble that indicates “the people's cohesion with the army during the February 22, 2019 movement.”

The command based its proposal on the fact that the army is “indivisible”, carrying out its constitutional and republican tasks, and has a close relationship with the people within the framework of national solidarity and cohesion.

They also suggested adding a statement to the articles stipulating “the People's National Army, defends the vital and strategic interests of the country in all circumstances.”

Initially, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune suggested that military units be sent abroad upon his orders and the approval of two-thirds of the parliament.

According to the Algerian constitution, the President is the minister of defense and the supreme commander of the armed forces. But in practice, the body that makes the decisions regarding the army is the command of its staff and the military intelligence, the backbone of the political system.

Since its independence in 1962, Algeria banned the participation of its forces in military missions outside the borders.



Iraqi Oil Minister: Kurdistan Region's Oil Exports to Resume Next Week

A view shows the al-Shuaiba oil refinery in southwest Basra, Iraq April 20, 2017. Reuters
A view shows the al-Shuaiba oil refinery in southwest Basra, Iraq April 20, 2017. Reuters
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Iraqi Oil Minister: Kurdistan Region's Oil Exports to Resume Next Week

A view shows the al-Shuaiba oil refinery in southwest Basra, Iraq April 20, 2017. Reuters
A view shows the al-Shuaiba oil refinery in southwest Basra, Iraq April 20, 2017. Reuters

Oil exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region will resume next week, Iraq's oil minister said on Monday, resolving a near two-year dispute as ties between Baghdad and Erbil improve.
The oil flows were halted by Türkiye in March 2023 after the International Chamber of Commerce ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad damages of $1.5 billion for unauthorized pipeline exports by the Kurdistan Regional Government between 2014 and 2018.

"Tomorrow, a delegation from the Ministry of Oil... will visit the Kurdish region to negotiate the mechanism for receiving oil from the region and exporting it. The export process will resume within a week," Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani told reporters.

According to Reuters, he added that Baghdad would receive 300,000 barrels per day from the region.

Erbil-based Rudaw TV earlier cited Kurdistan's natural resources minister, Kamal Mohammed, as saying oil exports could resume before March as all legal procedures have been completed.

The Iraqi parliament approved a budget amendment this month to subsidize production costs for international oil companies operating in Kurdistan, a move aimed at unblocking northern oil exports.

The resumption is expected to ease economic pressure in the Kurdistan region, where the halt has led to salary delays for public sector workers and cuts to essential services.