A new Algerian general in Blida prison

Director of the Residences of the Presidency of the Republic since 2020, General Soufiane Aouis has held various positions of responsibility in the army and has rubbed shoulders with the highest ranks of the military hierarchy, including a stint as central director of Military Infrastructures (DCIM) at the Ministry of National Defence during the last decade.  

In Constantine, headquarters of the 5th Military Region, where he was regional director of Military Constructions, he worked under General Benali Benali, the oldest military officer in the world (84 years old) and current head of the Republican Guard, with the highest rank (army general). He then served under General Amar Athamnia, the current commander of the ground forces, who succeeded General Benali Benali as head of the 5th Military Region.

In the last four years, like all senior military commanders, he has changed posts several times. Appointed head of the Central Military Construction Establishment by the late Gaïd Salah, former Deputy Minister of National Defence and Chief of Army Staff under Bouteflika, he soon moved on to head the residences of the President of the Republic before being appointed central director of Military Infrastructure.  

Like all his counterparts, General Aouis amassed a handsome fortune from his rank and the various posts he held. A fortune that aroused the jealousy and envy of some generals who considered that he had exaggerated his illicit enrichment.  Investigators from the Army's Central Security Directorate (DCSA) were sent after him. But each time, he was protected by strong networks within the military hierarchy. It was enough for General Saïd Chengriha to turn against him for everything to fall apart and for him to spend the rest of his life in the shadow of a cell in the Blida military prison. He was to join the contingent of generals imprisoned in Blida