French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez began a two-day visit to Algeria on Monday in an effort to revive security cooperation between Paris and Algiers.
Laurent Nuñez © Mena Today
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez began a two-day visit to Algeria on Monday in an effort to revive security cooperation between Paris and Algiers.
The trip, however, takes place against a backdrop of deep and persistent diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
Relations sharply deteriorated in the summer of 2024 after France officially recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed territory claimed by the Polisario Front and backed by Algeria. The move angered Algerian authorities and marked a turning point in bilateral ties.
Since then, tensions have escalated through a series of incidents, including the abduction of an Algerian influencer critical of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s government, the arrest of Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, the indictment of an Algerian consular official in France, and the subsequent expulsion of French diplomats from Algiers. These episodes have deepened mistrust on both sides.
Although no meeting with President Tebboune has been officially scheduled, Nuñez did not rule out the possibility. The visit appears to be a cautious attempt to reopen dialogue in a relationship strained by political disagreements and recurring diplomatic crises.
By Souad Merabet
Libya's Tripoli Criminal Court on Tuesday convicted four members of "a criminal gang" involved in human trafficking, abductions for ransom and torture, with sentences up to 22 years, the attorney general's office said on its Facebook page.
Tunisian authorities on Friday ordered a one-month suspension of activities by the Human Rights League (LTDH), according to a statement from the group, which was among the civil society quartet that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015.
Libya's eastern-based coast guard of the Libyan National Army rescued at least 404 migrants on board 10 boats after they had "faced harsh conditions at sea," the Tobruk Red Crescent said on Wednesday.
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