Algeria, Mauritania Coordinate Efforts on Cross-Border Terrorism

Algerian Army Chief of Staff Said Chengriha
Algerian Army Chief of Staff Said Chengriha
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Algeria, Mauritania Coordinate Efforts on Cross-Border Terrorism

Algerian Army Chief of Staff Said Chengriha
Algerian Army Chief of Staff Said Chengriha

Algerian Army Chief of Staff Said Chengriha has called on his Mauritanian counterpart, Major General Mohamed Bamba Meguett, to coordinate efforts in facing regional security challenges and strengthening cooperation on the border of the countries of the Sahel region.

Terrorism, smuggling, and the arms trade have been active in the Sahel countries since the outbreak of the Libyan crisis in 2011.

Chengriha received the Mauritanian Chief of Staff who is in Algeria for the first time on a three-day visit, according to a statement issued by the Algerian Defense Ministry.

Chengriha said that boosting military cooperation is crucial to meet security challenges. He noted that both military establishments should consider means to enable the armies to carry their duties in such a situation fraught with dangers and threats.

It is feasible to make greater use of the available security cooperation mechanisms, especially the Joint Military Staff Committee, which will help in exchanging information and coordinating actions, according to the Commander.

He underlined his country’s desire to boost the bilateral military relations to face the various security challenges that threaten the Maghreb and Sahel regions.

Chengriha indicated that Meguett's visit is an opportunity to enhance the cooperation between both armies in areas of common interest, and will allow the development of bilateral relations.

The Mauritanian official discussed with Algerian military and security commanders the developments in the Guerguerat crossing, especially clashes between Moroccan forces and Polisario Front soldiers.

They also addressed intelligence collaboration against extremism, human trafficking, as well as goods, drugs and weapons smuggling across the border.

The Joint Military Staff Committee was established in 2009 in Tamanrasset, southern Algeria.

It includes the chiefs of staff of the armies of Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Algeria. It was launched to confront terrorism threats from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and its affiliates.

The committee doesn’t pursue terrorist groups in the desert, which the four Saharan governments are unable to monitor.

Its weakness was evident when France took the lead in launching a war on terrorism in northern Mali in early 2013, instead of the armies of the four countries.

Security observers believe that there is no point for the committee to meet, given its inaction.

Security affairs experts agree that the Joint Committee is a doomed project, claiming that the four leaders promoted the initiative while they were not prepared to face the serious security challenges of militias.

When it was first launched, the project was expected to carry out military operations in extremist strongholds. However, that wasn’t the case.

Observers also say that the ongoing war in Mali between the local government and extremists has finally put an end to this project.

A spokesman for the Algerian Foreign Ministry told Asharq Al-Awsat earlier that the Joint Staff Committee was created to exchange information and coordinate security efforts, and the aim was never to launch military operations.

He also denied that the project was terminated after the French military intervention, stressing that it is still effective.



Hezbollah Fires about 250 Rockets, Other Projectiles into Israel in Heaviest Barrage in Weeks

Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
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Hezbollah Fires about 250 Rockets, Other Projectiles into Israel in Heaviest Barrage in Weeks

Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
Members of the Israeli forces inspect a site following a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)

Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in one of the group's heaviest barrages in months, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with ceasefire efforts to halt the all-out war.

Some of the rockets reached the Tel Aviv area in the heart of Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on an army center killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded 18 others in the southwest between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon's military said.  

The Israeli military expressed regret, saying that the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah and that the military's operations are directed solely against the fighters.

Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon's military has largely kept to the sidelines.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.

Hezbollah fires rockets after strikes on Beirut  

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes at Hezbollah, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several top commanders.

The Israeli military said about 250 projectiles were fired Sunday, with some intercepted.

Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people, including a 60-year old man in severe condition from rocket fire on northern Israel, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast in the central city of Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, and a 70-year-old woman who suffered smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire there.  

In Haifa, a rocket hit a residential building that police said was in danger of collapsing.

The Palestine Red Crescent reported 13 injuries it said were caused by an interceptor missile that struck several homes in Tulkarem in the West Bank. It was unclear whether the injuries and damage elsewhere were caused by rockets or interceptors.

Sirens wailed again in central and northern Israel hours later.

Israeli airstrikes without warning on Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 29 people and wounding 67, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Smoke billowed above Beirut again Sunday with new strikes. Israel's military said it targeted Hezbollah command centers in the southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeh, where the group has a strong presence.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north.

EU envoy calls for pressure to reach a truce  

The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire, and US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region last week.

The European Union’s top diplomat called Sunday for more pressure on Israel and Hezbollah to reach a deal, saying one was "pending with a final agreement from the Israeli government.”

Josep Borrell spoke after meeting with Mikati and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has been mediating with the group.

Borrell said the EU is ready to allocate 200 million euros ($208 million) to assist the Lebanese military, which would deploy additional forces to the south.

The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ended the monthlong 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol with the presence of UN peacekeepers.