Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Algeria has been bolstering security for Western tourists.

Algerian sources said the regime of President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika has
approved the deployment of thousands of police and security officers over
the next two weeks. They said the officers would help secure tourist
facilities during Christmas and New Year’s in Algeria.

“We are expecting a significant number of Europeans and other tourists,”
a source said.

The Algerian newspaper Al Khabar reported that the Interior Ministry was
recruiting 5,000 officers for deployment in the Sahara Desert. They said
about 1,000 Europeans, including French, German and Italians, were expected
to arrive for New Year’s celebrations in the vast desert region in southern
Algeria.

Al Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb has been bolstering its
presence in southern Algeria, particularly along the border with Mali. Since
2003, AQIM has abducted at least 50 tourists, most of them Westerners.

  Abdul Aziz Bouteflika, Al Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb, Algeria beefs up security for influx of tourists during Christmas, Mali, New Year’s, Sahara Desert