Algeria Snubs Calls to Intervene In the Sahel to Chase AQIM

Algeria has rejected recurrent demands for the intervention of its national army forces beyond borders, to chase members of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which take the Sahel region as safe-haven refuge.

This demand has been evoked during a meeting of army chiefs from Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Algeria held in Bamako on Tuesday, amid mounting concerns over the fallout from Libya’s conflict on security in the troubled desert zone.

Sahel countries’ military experts believe that Algeria army forces intervention is essential and can provide a plus to counterterrorism efforts in the region, regarding considerable material and human capacities the North African nation enjoys.

The Algerian army is considered the most powerful in the region, as its annual budget is six times the budget of the Mauritanian army, for instance.

Yet, the military experts believe that Algeria tends to avoid intervening beyond its border to chase terrorists, and consequently does not deal seriously with the issue of counterterrorism in the Sahel.

However, the AFP news agency quoted an Algerian military official who took part in the Bamako meeting, as saying that “the Constitution of Algeria prohibits the national army to lead a military operation outside the borders.”

A local official, preferred not to unveil his name, has already revealed that Mali called Algeria to send its military forces to Mali to help it combating and chasing militants of AQIM, but Algeria authorities said all they can do is providing logistic assistance to the Malian army.