UK Says Ready to Cooperate with Algeria in Defense Industry

Heappey meets with Chanegriha. (Algeria’s Ministry of National Defense)
Heappey meets with Chanegriha. (Algeria’s Ministry of National Defense)
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UK Says Ready to Cooperate with Algeria in Defense Industry

Heappey meets with Chanegriha. (Algeria’s Ministry of National Defense)
Heappey meets with Chanegriha. (Algeria’s Ministry of National Defense)

British Minister of State for the Armed Forces James Stephen Heappey has said that the UK acknowledges the historic Algerian-Russian ties.

The UK is willing to help Ukraine reach the goals determined by the people and democratically-elected government, he added. 

He made his remarks in an interview on Wednesday with TSA (Tout sur l'Algérie) on the occasion of his visit to Algiers last Sunday.

The British official affirmed that the UK government respects Algeria’s impartiality regarding the West-Russia conflict in the Ukrainian war.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune stated months ago that his country stands at an equal distance from the warring sides.

The President was scheduled to visit Moscow by the end of last year but the visit was postponed till May for undeclared reasons.

The UK deals with Algeria on the basis of respect and cooperation regarding the war in Ukraine, Heappey said, adding that it is keen on regularly briefing Algeria about the British concerns regarding the Russian operations in Ukraine.

“We also help Algeria diversify its defense capabilities and equipment.”

The North African region has a vital significance according to the UK, Heappey said.

“They have shared interests in maritime security, freedom of navigation, and the protection of the countries against terrorism and other dangerous forms of organized crime.”

He added that his visit to Algeria aimed to “reinforce bilateral ties”, confirming the long-term defense relations that stand on mutual partnership and respect.

He stressed his country’s openness to cooperating with Algeria in the defense industry.

Furthermore, Chief of Staff of the Algerian People's National Army General Said Chanegriha received Heappey on Sunday to explore ways to enhance defense cooperation.

Heappey expressed UK's desire to take military cooperation with Algeria to a higher level.

The meeting, held at the General Staff of the Algerian Army, dealt with the shared security challenges, including those relating to Africa, according to a statement from the Algerian Ministry of National Defense.

Moreover, Heappey met the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Community abroad, Amar Belani.

The Algerian-British talks focused on several regional and international issues of common interest, including the situation in Libya, Mali, and the Sahel region in general.

Regarding Western Sahara, the Algerian and British sides affirmed their support for the efforts of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Staffan De Mistura, aimed at encouraging the two parties to the conflict to relaunch the negotiation process to achieve a permanent and mutually acceptable political solution.



Hundreds of Thousands at Risk in Sudan's El-Fasher, Says UN

Internally displaced women wait in a queue to collect aid from a group at a camp in Gadaref on May 12, 2024. (AFP)
Internally displaced women wait in a queue to collect aid from a group at a camp in Gadaref on May 12, 2024. (AFP)
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Hundreds of Thousands at Risk in Sudan's El-Fasher, Says UN

Internally displaced women wait in a queue to collect aid from a group at a camp in Gadaref on May 12, 2024. (AFP)
Internally displaced women wait in a queue to collect aid from a group at a camp in Gadaref on May 12, 2024. (AFP)

Senior United Nations officials warned on Wednesday that hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk in the besieged Sudanese town of El-Fasher, amid signs that the fighting could soon escalate.

El-Fasher is one of five state capitals in Sudan's western Darfur region and the only one not in the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have been battling the regular army since April 2023.

The United Nations says the war across much of Sudan has created the world's largest displacement crisis, with millions uprooted, and has led to famine at a displacement camp near El-Fasher, AFP reported.

"Hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in El-Fasher are now at risk of the consequences of mass violence," Martha Pobee, the UN's Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, told the UN Security Council.

"As fighting engulfs the city, it has further exposed an extremely vulnerable population, including internally displaced persons living in large camps near El-Fasher. This violence has also affected health care facilities."

Darfur has seen some of the war's worst atrocities, and the RSF has besieged El-Fasher since May.

Sudan's war has already killed tens of thousands of people, with some estimates as high as 150,000.

"Civilians, especially women and children, have been hit," said the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Joyce Msuya.

"Civilian sites and infrastructure, including hospitals and internally displaced persons camps have been hit. The lives of hundreds of thousands of people, including more than 700,000 internally displaced people in and around El-Fasher, are at immediate threat.

"Our concern is mounting as we receive reports of intense shelling of central and western parts of El-Fasher and deployment of additional forces."

Close to 1.7 million people in the north Darfur region are facing acute food insecurity, she added.

"We are therefore horrified by signs that the fighting will intensify as the rainy season draws to a close in the coming months," Msuya said.

Independent UN experts earlier this month appealed for the quick deployment of an "impartial force" in Sudan for civilian protection.