Algeria sets up 24 new surveillance centers on borders with Morocco

Algerian interior minister Dahou Ould Kablia Monday said 24 new surveillance centers will be established on borders with the Kingdom of Morocco as part of prevention measures against drug and fuel smuggling.

The minister expressed dissatisfaction over smuggling groups’ activity and its negative impact on national economy.

“I told the Moroccan interior minister that the borders problem between the two countries depends on cooperation meant to resolve the smuggling problem. Otherwise, the issue will not be solved,” he said in a press conference in Algiers.

Asked about food smuggling, Dahou Ould Kablia believes that it is not as worrying fact as fuel and drug smuggling.

“We are not so concerned about food smuggling compared to the threat of fuel and drug smuggling to our economy,” he said.

He added that his ministry submitted a report about fuel smuggling to Prime Minister in order to decide in new measures to face the phenomenon on borders between Algeria and Morocco.

According to the minister, it is difficult to convince residents in borders to accept offered jobs as they “have got used to earn money easily through smuggling.”

He also said the government plan to step up measures through changes to the current penal code.

“I talked about fuel and drug smuggling in a meeting with the Moroccan interior minister in Rabat as part of the Meeting of Maghrebin Interior Ministers.”

Speaking about security situation on eastern borders with Tunisia and Libya, Ould Kablia said Algeria’s borders are safe and secured. 

“The Tiguentourine attack will not happen again. Our borders are safe and we do not care about domestic affairs of neighboring countries,” he said in response to remarks by some Salafist representatives in Tunisia.