This marked the second lethal attack on the Gendarmerie in five days. On
June 30, 11 Gendarmerie officers were killed in an ambush by the Al Qaida
Organization of the Islamic Maghreb near the southern Algerian border with
Mali.
The appointments were made in the Army, Navy, Gendarmerie and Republican
Guard. Officials said Bouteflika was also preparing to appoint a new
director for the police, expected to be Republican Guard commander Gen.
Agafani Hamel.
On July 5, Bouteflika appointed 14 officers to the rank of general and
24 others to colonel. Most of those promoted were expected to replace
officers slated for retirement or transfer.
The president also held talks with senior commanders and officials in
the Defense Ministry. They included Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ahmed Qaid
Saleh.
Still, Bouteflika has remained vague regarding the military promotions.
For the second year in a row, the president, who recently lost his brother,
did not address the General Staff during Algeria's Independence Day.
Hamel, 52, was a former Gendarmerie commander until he transferred to
the Republican Guard in 2008. Hamel was expected to succeed the late Col.
Ali Tunisi, assassinated by a senior officer in his office in February 2010.
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