Beginning of the first Algerian-Russian military maneuvers in Algerian territory

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (left) and his Algerian counterpart Ramtane Lamamra, in Algiers on May 10, 2022 (photo illustration).

AFP - HANDOUT

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For the first time, Algerian-Russian military maneuvers are taking place on Algerian territory, in the south of the country.

These maneuvers, which have just begun, aim to fight against terrorist groups in Saharan areas.

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"Desert Shield 2022" is the name given to the first joint Algerian-Russian military maneuvers on Algerian soil.

They are taking place until November 28 at the Hammaguir training ground, in Béchar, in southwestern Algeria, a region bordering Morocco.

These land armed forces exercises bring together nearly 200 Algerian and Russian soldiers and aim to search for, detect and destroy illegal armed groups in open Saharan territories, with the use of drones and armored vehicles in support.

►Read again: Algeria and Russia strengthen their military partnership before joint maneuvers

These anti-terrorist maneuvers are the result of exercises carried out in October 2021 in North Ossetia, Russia, with the participation of a hundred Algerian soldiers.

This is a continuation and deepening of the partnership between the armies of the two countries, which will train in combat in a desert environment.

In September 2022, Algerian soldiers took part in the Vostok-2022 maneuvers in the Russian Far East, alongside soldiers from, among others, China, India and Syria.

This year, Shugaev Dimitri Evguenievich, director of Russia's Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, visited Algeria twice to discuss " 

" between the two countries.

►Read also: Algeria announces the launch of maritime military maneuvers with Russia

Beyond the fact that they are taking place near the Moroccan border, these maneuvers also show that Algeria is following the deterioration of the security situation in the Sahel.

Representatives of Sahelian countries were also invited for the first time to observe them, explains in particular the journalist Akram Kharief, host of the Menadefense site and specialist in the Algerian army, interviewed by RFI.

It shows that there is a new approach between the two armies, where there is a lot more exchange of experience, a lot more cooperation, but without it being strategic;

we always remain in the tactical, whether on the Algerian side or on the Russian side.

Akram Kharief, host of the Menadefense.net website

Francois Mazet

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