Diplomatically outflanked,Algeria waves ‘general mobilization’

Engulfed in crises with its most important neighbours and EU partners,the Algerian regime beats the drums of war by adopting a law on the general mobilization of troops.

From a diplomatic crisis to another,the Algerian regime has adopted a provocative approach that led to cutting ties with Morocco,tension with Sahel countries (Mali,Burkina Faso and Niger) and enmity with Haftar’s eastern Libya forces,while Mauritania has taken its distances from a whimsical regime bent on following the chimera of regional hegemony.

The adoption of a new law governing general mobilization,during a council of ministers chaired by the president,shows that Algeria is preparing for war and domestic chaos.

As the public opinion feels the pain of failing economic and social policies and the conspiracy theories fail to distract them from their daily worries,the Algerian regime fears an implosion of the system from within.

The new law would help the regime mobilize reservists but also crackdown on civil liberties,including any form of dissent or protests,while gearing the economy to meet war ends and allowing the state to dispossess individuals’ belonging for war aims.

Tension was stoked with Mali when Algerian authorities downed a drone that was tracking armed groups. Bamako recalled its ambassador and accused Algeria of backing terrorism in the region after the incident.

The new legislation also serves the warmongering aims of the Algerian regime,wherein the military is seeking to gain legitimacy and relevance. Algeria is more interested in talking about war for domestic mobilization and legitimization purposes than actually engaging in war.

It also indicates a general panic within the regime amid an unprecedented international isolation that led Algeria’s main arms supplier,Russia,to take its distances amid growing tension between the Moscow-backed Wagner militia operating in the Sahel and the Algerian state.

The general mobilization and similar escalatory steps are aiming to stoke fears of foreign threats among the disenchanted and impoverished Algerian people. It is rather a move to bar the roads to the return of mass protests emulating the 2019 Hirak movement that put an end to Bouteflika’s rule.