Algeria's Goudjil Elected Speaker, Angering Hirak Movement

Algeria’s Speaker Salah Goudjil (AFP)
Algeria’s Speaker Salah Goudjil (AFP)
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Algeria's Goudjil Elected Speaker, Angering Hirak Movement

Algeria’s Speaker Salah Goudjil (AFP)
Algeria’s Speaker Salah Goudjil (AFP)

The Algerian National Assembly named Salah Goudjil as speaker, which was met with a wave of criticism from Hirak activists who condemned President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's choice.

Observers said the designation contradicts the president’s positions, who pledged to "build a new Algeria" and encouraged young people to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Hirak activists expressed their anger after Goudjil’s nomination, saying it reflects negatively on the president's approach to establish a "new Algeria", in which young cadres are given the opportunity to run main state bodies, as pledged by Tebboune during his presidential campaign at the end of 2019.

In 2020, Goudjil was named interim president of the National Assembly succeeding Abdelkader Bensalah, who resigned for health reasons.

He was named as head of the parliament after some members of the council withdrew their nominations for the position indicating that the matter was already decided by the presidency.

Goudjil belongs to the “presidential quota” in the National Assembly, which is a group of 47 parliamentarians chosen by Tebboune to support policies and bills introduced by the government.

He has benefited from the strong support of the National Liberation Front and Democratic National Rally, the two pillars of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's regime.

Goudjil, 90, is a veteran of Algeria's revolution for independence and assumed a ministerial position at the end of the 1970s.

He is also considered one of the symbols of the former National Liberation Front. Hirak called for dissolving the Front accusing it of corruption in the country.

The judiciary has imprisoned two secretaries-general of the Liberation Front, in addition to several of its parliamentarians and ministers, on corruption charges, including paying bribes during the 2017 elections.

Goudjil described the upcoming legislative and local elections as an “important milestone," emphasizing that true democracy provides Algeria with immunity to face all the challenges.

“Algeria has set an example to be followed in democracy in defiance of its enemies at home and abroad.”

Last week, Tebboune said he would launch arrangements for establishing a "Higher Council for Youth", which was introduced by the new constitution.

He also said that the state will cover the expenses of electoral campaigns of young candidates for the parliamentary elections, after announcing the dissolution of parliament.



Attacks on Syrian Security Forces Sent to Quell Sectarian Clashes Leave 18 Dead as Israel Strikes Targets to Protect Druze

Smoke billows following Israeli strikes in the distance as members of Syria's security forces man rocket launchers in an area between Mazraa and Walga near the predominantly Druze city of Sweida on July 14, 2025, following clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows following Israeli strikes in the distance as members of Syria's security forces man rocket launchers in an area between Mazraa and Walga near the predominantly Druze city of Sweida on July 14, 2025, following clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters. (AFP)
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Attacks on Syrian Security Forces Sent to Quell Sectarian Clashes Leave 18 Dead as Israel Strikes Targets to Protect Druze

Smoke billows following Israeli strikes in the distance as members of Syria's security forces man rocket launchers in an area between Mazraa and Walga near the predominantly Druze city of Sweida on July 14, 2025, following clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows following Israeli strikes in the distance as members of Syria's security forces man rocket launchers in an area between Mazraa and Walga near the predominantly Druze city of Sweida on July 14, 2025, following clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters. (AFP)

At least 18 members of Syria's security forces have been killed in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, the Defense Ministry said, after they deployed to quell deadly sectarian clashes that had resumed on Monday, while Israel said it struck tanks in a town in the same province on the same day.

Sunday's fighting between Druze militiamen and Bedouin tribal fighters was the first time that sectarian violence erupted inside the city of Sweida itself, following months of tensions in the broader province.

Defense Ministry spokesperson Hassan Abdel-Ghani said in statements reported by Syrian state news agency SANA that a number of troops were also injured during attacks on military points by "outlawed groups".

Earlier, the ministry said in a statement to Reuters that these groups, who it did not identify further, had attacked a number of its units at dawn.

It said its forces responded to the attacks and had pursued the groups that refused to halt hostilities and continued to target security forces.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it attacked several tanks in a town in Sweida. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes were a "clear warning to the Syrian regime", adding that Israel would not allow harm to the Druze living in Syria.

Close ties between the Israeli state and its 120,000 Druze citizens, strengthened by the fact that Druze men serve in the Israel army, are one of the reasons for Israel's deepening involvement in Syria.

The fighting on Sunday left 30 people dead and prompted Syria's security forces to deploy units to the city to restore calm and guarantee safe passage for civilians looking to leave, the defense ministry said in earlier statements.

But intense clashes broke out again on Monday, local news outlet Sweida24 reported.

Another security source said that Syrian troops would aim to exert state control over the whole province to prevent any more violence, but that this could take several days.

It marked the latest episode of sectarian bloodshed in Syria, where fears among minority groups have surged since opposition fighters toppled President Bashar al-Assad in December, installing their own government and security forces.

The factions which fought Assad during the war agreed in December to dissolve into the Defense Ministry but efforts to integrate armed factions from minority groups - including Druze and Kurds - have largely stalled.

In southern Syria, efforts have been further complicated by Israel's stated policy that it would not allow Syria's new army to deploy south of Damascus and that Sweida and neighboring provinces should make up a demilitarized zone.

Interior Minister Anas Khattab said in a written statement carried on state media that the "absence of state institutions, especially military and security institutions, is a major cause of the ongoing tensions in Sweida and its countryside."

Sunday's violence erupted after a wave of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Sweida, witnesses said.