Rabat – Khaled Nezzar, the Former Algerian defense minister has directly attacked Algerian military chief Gaid Salah in a publication he shared in Algerian news outlet Algerie Part.
Nezzar also spoke about the purge of Algerian military officers led by Gaid Salah throughout the months of crisis in Algeria.
The popular movement in Algeria emerged after former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his intention to run for a fifth term as the head of state. The decision caused frustration among citizens, who had been calling for Bouteflika and his allies, including Gaid Salah, to step down from power.
While several officials surrendered to the demands of Algerian citizens, Gaid Salah is still determined that a dialogue could help end the crisis. Salah is intent on keeping controlling Algeria’s army.
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Algerian protests, however, are persisting in their protests for a democratic country, and the removal of all elements of the Bouteflika regime from power.
“Gaid Salah prides himself on having a double cap and believes he can afford anything. This arises from a sick mind that should be reduced at all costs and quickly,” Nezzar wrote.
Nezzar explained that his accusations against Gaid Salah have no political objectives. “My retirement in 1993 shows my complete disinterest in power. It is not now, and at my age, that I would seek to play any political role,” said Nezzar.
He added that he refuses to live the last days of his life without denouncing the way his country is “being abused.”
Nezzar also spoke about the beginning of Salah’s military career.
“His career was quite ordinary.”
In the 70s in Tindouf, Nezzar said that he discovered that Salah was blamed by colonel Mohamed Salah Yahiaoui for abandoning troops without support during the Amgala I battle. The battle between Algeria and Morocco took place on January 27, 1976, in the oasis of Western Sahara, 260 kilometers west of the border with Algeria.
“Poor soldier, Gaid Salah will be discredited sooner or later. He retained his position thanks to his political loyalty, which he believed he had acquired from Bouteflika,” Nezzar said.
