On Sunday, the Algerian Ministry of Defense announced the dismantling of a "separatist" cell affiliated with the "Kabylie independence movement", and said that it was planning "to carry out bombings" amid the protest movement marches.
A statement by the Ministry of Defense stated that it revealed the preparation of a dangerous conspiracy targeting the country behind a separatist movement, and that the disclosure of this plot came as part of the completion of ongoing security investigations since last March, related to “dismantling a criminal cell consisting of affiliates of a separatist movement involved in planning to carry out bombings. And criminal acts amid rallies and popular rallies in several regions of the country.
The statement added that this scheme involved elements belonging to the separatist movement of the Kabylie region, known for short as "the MAC", and that they had received combat training abroad, with funding and support from foreign countries, according to the statement.
The Ministry of Defense statement stated that weapons of war and explosives that were intended to implement the movement's plans were seized.
In 2002, the "Independence of Kabylie" movement was established, which seeks the independence of governorates inhabited by Berbers, east of the capital, Algiers.
The leaders of this movement are in France, and in 2010 they announced the formation of an interim government for this region, in which the movement’s influence is weak.
A popular movement began in Algeria in February 2019, after former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his intention to run for a fifth presidential term.
The protest movement succeeded in pushing Bouteflika - who was abandoned by the army - to step down, but it continued to demand a radical change of the regime, while the authorities say that the change is gradual and through the ballot box.
Since December 19, 2019, Abdelmadjid Tebboune has held the presidency in Algeria, after winning the first presidential elections after Bouteflika's resignation.