Algerian Authorities Accused of ‘Plotting Coup’ against Opposition Party

Head of the Algerian Workers' Party Louisa Hanoune in Tipaza, Algeria. (AFP file photo)
Head of the Algerian Workers' Party Louisa Hanoune in Tipaza, Algeria. (AFP file photo)
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Algerian Authorities Accused of ‘Plotting Coup’ against Opposition Party

Head of the Algerian Workers' Party Louisa Hanoune in Tipaza, Algeria. (AFP file photo)
Head of the Algerian Workers' Party Louisa Hanoune in Tipaza, Algeria. (AFP file photo)

The opposition Algerian Workers' Party accused former party members of “plotting a coup” against secretary-general Louisa Hanoune, saying they were backed by state authorities.

Former lawmakers and members of the party's central committee, who were expelled by Hanoune for disciplinary reasons, met at a resort west of Algiers to elect a new leader.

They withdrew confidence from Hanoune and chose former leader Mounir Nasri as acting secretary-general, pending the organization of an extraordinary conference to choose new leadership.

Nasri accused Hanoune of several “grave violations”, such as dismissing members, saying the attendees wanted to “correct the path of the party”.

Hanoune ran twice in presidential elections in 2009 and 2014, and spent nine months in prison last year on charges of “conspiring against the army,” but she was acquitted soon after.

Djelloul Djoudi of the Workers' Party told Asharq Al-Awsat that the people who carried out the coup had no organizational ties to the party, adding that the Algiers administrative authorities granted them a license to hold a public meeting.

The license confirms that the Ministry of Interior was involved in the coup, and the judicial report of the meeting's agenda also implicates the Justice Ministry, he added.

“The entire government supports this plot,” said Djoudi.

He stressed that the incident proves that the ruling system has not changed, in contrast to the slogan of a new Algeria, which has been raised since the presidential elections at the end of 2019.

Djoudi explained that the party is paying the price for refusing to participate in the parliamentary elections, scheduled for June 12.

Hanoune had been subject to two failed attempts to oust her by party members in 2015 and 2019.



Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
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Kurdish Fighters Leave Northern City in Syria as Part of Deal with Central Government

A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)
A first contingent of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters leave Aleppo, headed for SDF-controlled northeastern Syria, in Aleppo, Syria, 04 April 2025. (EPA)

Scores of US-backed Kurdish fighters left two neighborhoods in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo Friday as part of a deal with the central government in Damascus, which is expanding its authority in the country.

The fighters left the predominantly Kurdish northern neighborhoods of Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh, which had been under the control of Kurdish fighters in Aleppo over the past decade.

The deal is a boost to an agreement reached last month between Syria’s interim government and the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast. The deal could eventually lead to the merger of the main US-backed force in Syria into the Syrian army.

The withdrawal of fighters from the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came a day after dozens of prisoners from both sides were freed in Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.

Syria’s state news agency, SANA, reported that government forces were deployed along the road that SDF fighters will use to move between Aleppo and areas east of the Euphrates River, where the Kurdish-led force controls nearly a quarter of Syria.

Sheikh Maksoud and Achrafieh had been under SDF control since 2015 and remained so even when forces of ousted President Bashar al-Assad captured Aleppo in late 2016. The two neighborhoods remained under SDF control when forces loyal to current interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa captured the city in November, and days later captured the capital, Damascus, removing Assad from power.

After being marginalized for decades under the rule of the Assad family rule, the deal signed last month promises Syria’s Kurds “constitutional rights,” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades.

Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war, will return to their homes. Thousands of Kurds living in Syria who have been deprived of nationality for decades under Assad will be given the right of citizenship, according to the agreement.

Kurds made up 10% of the country’s prewar population of 23 million. Kurdish leaders say they don’t want full autonomy with their own government and parliament. They want decentralization and room to run their day-to day-affairs.