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Algeria Issues International Warrant against President of MAK

People attempt to put out a fire in the mountainous Tizi Ouzou province (Reuters)
People attempt to put out a fire in the mountainous Tizi Ouzou province (Reuters)
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Algeria Issues International Warrant against President of MAK

People attempt to put out a fire in the mountainous Tizi Ouzou province (Reuters)
People attempt to put out a fire in the mountainous Tizi Ouzou province (Reuters)

Algiers' public prosecutor Sid Ahmed Merad issued Thursday an international arrest warrant against the premeditators of Djamel Bensmain's murder in Larbaa Nath Irathen in Tizi-Ouzou, east of Algeria.

The warrants include the arrest of the president of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylia (MAK), Ferhat Mehenni.

The MAK has been classified as a terrorist movement.

Speaking at a press conference held at the headquarters of the Algiers Court to discuss the details of the crime, Merad said that 29 individuals were currently on the run with the issuance of international arrest warrants against some of them.

He called on the countries where these individuals are located to cooperate to extradite them as soon as possible.

The public prosecutor announced that 83 of the 88 persons involved in the murder of Bensmail had been held in temporary detention, including a minor, three women, and 24 MAK members.

The Public Prosecutor highlighted that the investigations revealed the premeditation in the crime and its promotion to create conflict.

Investigations also revealed the existence of systematic framing of the MAK members during the incident and the role of the foreign parties.

Djamel Bensmail was killed on suspicion of his involvement in the wildfires that erupted in the region, an incident that caused great resentment and condemnation in Algeria and abroad.

Earlier, authorities released testimonies of several individuals, including MAK members, who admitted to their involvement in the murder of Bensmail from Ain Defla.

They confessed to beating the victim before dragging, killing, burning, and mutilating him at the Martyr Abane Ramadane Square in downtown Larbaa Nath Irathen.

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US Eases Restrictions on Syria While Keeping Sanctions in Place

A worker stands at a bakery after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A worker stands at a bakery after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Eases Restrictions on Syria While Keeping Sanctions in Place

A worker stands at a bakery after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
A worker stands at a bakery after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)

The US on Monday eased some restrictions on Syria's transitional government to allow the entry of humanitarian aid after opposition factions ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad last month.

The US Treasury issued a general license, lasting six months, that authorizes certain transactions with the Syrian government, including some energy sales and incidental transactions.

The move does not lift sanctions on the nation that has been battered by more than a decade of war, but indicates a limited show of US support for the new transitional government.

The general license underscores America's commitment to ensuring its sanctions “do not impede activities to meet basic human needs, including the provision of public services or humanitarian assistance,” a Treasury Department statement reads.

Since Assad's ouster, representatives from the nation's new de facto authorities have said that the new Syria will be inclusive and open to the world.

The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.

The announcement followed a meeting in Damascus between al-Sharaa, who was once aligned with al-Qaeda, and the top US diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, who led the first US diplomatic delegation into Syria since Assad’s ouster. The US and UN have long designated HTS as a terrorist organization.

HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.

Much of the world ended diplomatic relations with Assad because of his crackdown on protesters, and sanctioned him and his Russian and Iranian associates.

Syria’s infrastructure has been battered, with power cuts rampant in the country and some 90% of its population living in poverty. About half the population won’t know where its next meal will come from, as inflation surges.

The pressure to lift sanctions has mounted in recent years as aid agencies continue to cut programs due to donor fatigue and a massive 2023 earthquake that rocked Syria and Türkiye. The tremor killed over 59,000 people and destroyed critical infrastructure that couldn’t be fixed due to sanctions and overcompliance, despite the US announcing some humanitarian exemptions.