Ministry of Defense to create an advanced military base over the Algerian southern borders

Algiers (8/12/2012) – The Ministry of Defense doubled the number of troops along the borders with Niger, a high-security official told Echorouk.

The source added that the ministry of defense has also developed a project to establish an advanced military base in the region to control and monitor the situation on the borders following the spread of weapons smuggling through the neighboring countries, particularly Libya and Niger.

Same spokesperson explained that actions taken by the Ministry of National Defense came against the backdrop of thwarting the attempt of a detachment belonging to the Algerian troops at the fourth military region, last Thursday, to smuggle a large quantity of weapons and war ammunition, through intercepting a group of smugglers on Algeria-Niger borders.

The smugglers were on board of four vehicles transporting Africans, who tried to pass a shipment of arms and ammunition including, guns, Kalashnikovs, rockets, 38 macghine guns, a rocket launcher RPG, 7 machine guns type M145, five rifles with lens, 16 rifle guns, 8 Kalashnikov guns, an RPG  rocket launcher, 7 charred an important quantity of ammunition of different calibers.

According to available information, the four-wheel cars, which were packed with considerable quantity of arms and ammunition, entered from Niger, and were addressed to the strongholds of terrorist groups in the region, according to initial investigations by the Algerian security services.

The process of thwarting the attempt to smuggle arms on Algeria-Niger borders is the second of the kind in less than two months.

Previously, Niger security troops clashed with AQIM terrorists on the beginning of November, and killed many of them before retrieving machine guns and RPG rockets, riffles and cars, that were coming from Libya.