ANP Army works out “potent defensive shield” plan to safeguard Algerian borders

Vice Minister of National Defense, Chief of Staff of the People’s National Army (ANP), Lieutenant General, Ahmed Gaid Salah, has set up in conjunction with the ANP high command structures a monitoring and follow-up cell in the country’s fourth, fifth and sixth military regions entrusted with constantly keeping abreast with all the developments unfolding along the borders with Libya and Tunisia in order to face up to any untoward contingency stemming from a possible terrorist infiltration into the national territory.

It’s a real agenda that the Deputy Minister of National Defense gave the ANP troops of the 4th Military Region, which includes the southern and southeast borders of the country, where numerous troops and heavy equipment were deployed well before the recent ill-fated terrorist attack in Benguerdan, Tunisia. 

General Gaid Salah, who inquired about the situation on the ground including the security arrangements in place and the situation of military units based along the southeast border of the country, issued clear instructions and guidelines to the ANP units deployed there to maintain their intervention and combat readiness at the highest level in order to thwart any terrorist infiltrations into the national territory as part of a “defensive shield operation”.

Lieutenant General, Ahmed Gaid Salah, highlighted to this effect the preventive measures taken by the ANP Command in order to “duly secure Algeria’s borders and deal successfully with any outside potential threat.”

“Within the People’s National Army, we have undertaken, for years, a large-scale operation in order to secure all our borders, including Southern and South-east borders and our territorial waters by mobilizing appropriate potential likely to cope efficiently with any potential threat,” the ANP Chief of Staff underscored.

This work is conducted, he continued, “while being perfectly aware that the National Liberation Army was then able to assume its responsibility to recover the independence and national sovereignty and free themselves from the yoke of French colonial power. The responsibility of the ANP with regard to the preservation of this valuable asset is a heavy responsibility and you will be worthy of this merit,” the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.

“This merit places the valiant ANP elements in the forefront and in the first ranks of Algeria’s true servants and dutiful protectors of its Republican character by faithfully fulfilling their bounden constitutional duties, from which they never deviate whatever the sacrifices so as to defend the supreme interests of the country and guarantee its future and safeguard its sovereignty, while ensuring the factors of safety and bolstering the pillars of national defense,” General Ahmed Gaid Salah noted.