Russia covertly carried out military exercises in Béchar

Russian troops arrived in the Béchar region of northern Algeria, close to the border with Morocco, at the end of January, Algèrie Part has learned exclusively. The military manoeuvres between the Russians and Algerians ended at the beginning of February. The media outlet points out that the authorities' intention was to complete them secretly, so a major blockade was lifted to prevent media coverage.

The Algerian Ministry of Defence has referred to the reinforcement of arms cooperation, given that the intention of these exercises was to be kept strictly confidential. The Algerian authorities involved in the manoeuvres were not allowed to leak any information about the activity they were carrying out. Moreover, Algèrie Part claims that they have banned any publication of the exercises on the grounds of "protection of national security". However, the real objective is to prevent the presence of Russian military personnel on Algerian territory from becoming known.

Algeria wanted to bring its relations with Moscow closer without affecting its relations with important Western countries. Carrying out joint military exercises with the Russians was not going to sit well with some partners such as the United States and France, especially the latter, with which it is not going through its best moment in terms of diplomatic relations. In fact, both countries had pressured Algiers to distance itself from the Kremlin and intensify its ties with Western powers, something that, after this covert episode, seems increasingly complicated.

Exercises involving Russian and Algerian troops are nothing new, at least for the countries involved. They were scheduled for the end of last year, between 16 and 28 November. Both armies were expected to carry out military manoeuvres 50 kilometres from the border with Morocco. However, the Algerian Defence Ministry cancelled them without giving a specific reason, which has now been seen as a postponement rather than a cancellation. 

In this way, Algeria has managed to avoid pressure from the Americans and the French, among others, and to further improve its relations with the Kremlin. This is the first time that these two countries have acted in a coordinated manner on Algerian territory. However, ties between the two countries were boosted in 2022 when the country led by Abdelmajdid Tebboune was the only African country to participate in the "Vostok 2022" exercises in Siberia. In addition to all this, naval manoeuvres were held in Algiers in October of the same year with the presence of Russian vessels.

While Algeria reaches out to Russia in an attempt to hide its intentions from theoretical Western partners, there is one actor that looks with concern at what is happening 50 kilometres from its border. Rabat and Algiers have been going through a diplomatic crisis since August 2021 when they broke off relations. Tension in North Africa, far from disappearing, could increase with activities such as those of the Algerian administration, especially when they are attempted behind the backs of other major powers. An already delicate context that Algeria does not seem to have any intention of defusing.