Algeria to unveil military mobilisation bill amid regional tensions

Amid ongoing tension with neighbours Morocco and Mali, Algeria is to unveil a military mobilisation bill on Wednesday.

Adopted by the Council of Ministers earlier this month, the draft law signals a significant shift in the country’s security policies.

It comes as Algeria’s army chief of staff makes a series of trips to border areas to oversee military manoeuvres.

The draft bill lays the groundwork for a full-scale wartime mobilisation that would put civilians, the economy, and the country’s institutions under direct military command.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has described the proposed bill as a necessary legal framework to address any national crisis, not just war.

The unveiling of the text by the country’s minister of justice, comes after Algeria earlier this month said it had shot down a military drone near its border with Mali.

It was the first incident of its kind amid growing tensions between the two countries that each govern a vast portion of the Sahara.

Algier’s relations with former colonial power, France, have also deteriorated after Paris shifted its position to support Morocco’s autonomy plan for the disputed Western Sahara region.

The territory is claimed by the pro-independence Polisario Front, which receives support from Algeria.

The proposed military mobilisation bill has raised concerns among ordinary Algerians.