Algeria's military judiciary on Sunday ordered five generals and a colonel in temporary custody in corruption cases, weeks after they were disqualified as part of a campaign of unprecedented changes in the army's leadership.
An-Nahar satellite news agency reported that the military magistrate in Blida province ordered the five generals and the colonel to be held in provisional custody after being brought before the military court.
The five generals are: former commander of the National Gendarmerie Maj. Gen. Manad Nuba, former commander of the 1st Military Region Major General Habib Shantouf, former commander of the second district, Major Saeed Bay, and the Director of Finance of the Ministry of Defense Major General Bujmaa Budwar.
In addition to these generals, al-Jazeera reported that the judge also ordered the arrest of a former colonel who served as director of intelligence in the western province of Oran, without mentioning his name.
The space station, which regularly publishes information on changes in the military, said the investigative judge at the Blida Military Court had heard these senior officers pursuing charges of "illegal enrichment and exploitation of the high office."
According to the same source, the magistrate of the military withdrew in September the passports of the five generals, after they were issued travel ban.
There was no immediate comment from official sources on what Algerian satellite channels said.
These developments are unprecedented in the country. Algeria has never before referred this number of generals to prison a few months after they were removed from office.
The news agency quoted the Algerian site "Flash Disk" Algerian saying that the deposit of five of the most powerful generals of the military prison, a previous "serious has not occurred in the history of Algeria since independence, especially coincided with the political obstruction and conflict at the top of the pyramid of power."
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has made unprecedented changes in the army's leadership, including commanders of military zones, police and gendarmerie commanders, and the director of army security.
The Defense Department interpreted the changes as "a dedication to the principle of trading in high-level military positions," while local media raised questions about their timing as the countdown to the presidential election in the spring of 2019 began.