Algeria deploys 3,000 more troops

Algeria deploys 3,000 more troops ALGIERS, Tuesday

Algerian army deployed an extra force of 3,000 soldiers along its borders with Mali, Niger and Mauritania to prevent the infiltration of extremists into the country, a local daily reported on Tuesday.

An anonymous source told El-Khabar that the army turned the border line with Mali, Niger and Mauritania into a no-entry military zone and set up 20 new state-of-the-art surveillance spots to guarantee zero infiltrations by extremists.

In addition to the existing military forces at borders, the army deployed 3,000 more soldiers to monitor the border areas which have been witnessing infiltration by pro-al-Qaida members.

According to the new measures, movement between Algeria and the three neighboring countries will be restricted to only eight crossings along the joint borders.

Meanwhile, Algerian authorities asked nomads who used to roam along the southern borders not to move from one area to the other before getting security permission from the army field leader.

"Any one who violates the order ... might be shot," the paper said.

The army also banned movement without permission across 170 areas and provided the areas with military equipment to deal with any vehicles snaking through borders. It also announced it will regularly patrol the border areas.

On Monday, an Algerian court sentenced nine people to imprisonment for terms which ranged between one to 20 years over connection with terrorist groups.

Algeria and neighboring countries, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, face an increasing threat by Algerias Salafist-turned group Al- Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. Chiefs of staff of the four countries decided to launch a massive military. Xinhua