New ‘tough’ head of Algerian security named after Al Qaida abductions

Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Algeria has appointed a retired general to be its new
security chief.

The regime of President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika has named [Ret.] Gen.
Othman Tartag to head the Homeland Security Department. The department has
been deemed the most powerful agency in the Algerian security establishment.

“He is a tough man who will focus on stopping terrorism,” an official
said.

Tartag, also known as Bashir, replaces Gen. Abdul Khadir Kherfi, said to
have been fired from his post by Algerian intelligence agency chief Gen.
Mohammed Medienne. The government announced the appointment but did not
explain Kherfi’s dismissal.

Diplomats have linked the shakeup at the security department to a rash
of Al Qaida abductions in Algeria and Western Sahara. On Oct. 23, three
European aid workers were kidnapped by alleged members of the
Algerian-backed Polisario.

“There was lots of criticism by France and other EU [European Union]
states of the kidnapping,” a diplomat said.

Medienne was said to be one of the most powerful men in Algeria.
Diplomats said Medienne has been regarded as a major force behind Bouteflika
and expected to play a major role in overseeing national elections in
Algeria in 2012.

The appointment of Tartag was believed to signal an intensification of
Algeria’s crackdown on Al Qaida as well as the Islamic opposition. Tartag
was said to have been a leading officer in the bloody crackdown on the
Algerian opposition in the 1990s, particularly the banning of the Islamic
Salvation Front.

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