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Rabat – Algeria’s regime dismissed Major General Mohamed Kaidi as the head of the Employment-Preparation Department of National People’s Army (ANP) General Staff.
Algerie Part Plus reports that General Kaidi was a respected officer in the ANP and believed to be close to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and ANP chief of staff Said Chengriha.
“Appreciated by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and cultivating since 2020 an important proximity with Said Chengriha, the boss of the Algerian military institution, Major General Mohamed Kaidi was dismissed and replaced on the sly in the greatest discretion while just a few days ago his name appeared on the list of people to be promoted to occupy key positions within the Algerian military institution,” Algerie Part Plus wrote.
According to Algerie Part Plus’ sources, Kaidi’s dismissal is directly linked to the ongoing tension between Algeria and Morocco, especially his stance on how the Algerian military leadership is managing the latest crisis with Morocco.
Prior to the dismissal, Kaidi took part in a long late night meeting chaired by Said Chengriha last week. The meeting is reported to have mainly explored which strategy Algeria should adopt amid deteriorating tensions with Morocco.
While Algerie Part Plus’ sources did not reveal “what was exactly discussed during the meeting,” they spoke of “a deep disagreement between Major General Mohamed Kaidi and other military decision-makers including senior officials of the military high command of the ANP on the very sensitive issue of Algerian nationals killed in Western Sahara.”
Last week, Algeria’s government accused Morocco of killing three Algerian truck drivers with drone strikes. Algiers initially lied about the site of the incident, saying that it took place on Mauritanian territory.
However, MINURSO, the UN peacekeeping operation in Western Sahara, confirmed that the bombing of the truck took place in a buffer zone, a restricted area in Western Sahara.
Algeria’s regime continued threatening to avenge the death of Algerians “murdered” by Morocco in Mauritania, but the confirmation of the presence of Algerian nationals in a sensitive zone in Western Sahara has brought Algiers under scrutiny for its role in the regional conflict.
For observers, MINURSO’s confirmation of the site of the incident casts doubt on Algeria’s narrative while raising some serious questions about the presence of Algerians in the zone.
General Kaidi asked similar questions of the Algerian military leadership during last week’s late night meeting, according to Algerie Part Plus.
“Mohamed Kaidi dared, in front of the military hierarchy, to express his disagreement with the way this security crisis was managed and with the response that should have been adopted against the Moroccan neighbor,” the newspaper wrote. “Even more seriously, Major General Mohamed Kaidi raised many questions about the circumstances in which the three Algerian truckers died.”
For the Algerian news outlet, Kaidi was likely dismissed for trying to convince his superiors to carry out a thorough investigation to understand what exactly led to the death of the three Algerian truckers instead of accusing Morocco.
