Algerian Authorities Track Nationals Fighting in Syria
As more foreign Islamists travel to Syria to fight alongside rebels, the Algerian authorities are taking steps to track their nationals and stop this, writes Kaci Racelma.
Tunisia has sent more than 3,500 jihadists to Syria to fight against the forces of President Bashar al-Assad. Now Algeria is taking its turn in the limelight for recruiting fighters. However, unlike in Tunisia, where authorities are well aware of the difficulties in “controlling the population movement,” the Algerian government has been campaigning against this phenomenal scourge that seems more like the “death trade.”
In Syria, the situation is going from bad to worse. While the rhetoric of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) takes a nationalist approach, seeking to topple Assad’s regime in order to establish a democratic system that would live up to the sacrifices that have already been made, other Islamist armed groups seek to draw the public’s attention to Shariah. The best-known proponent of this concept is Jabhat al-Nusra, whose hard-core militants are fighting in the name of Islam.
Jabhat al-Nusra has attracted more and more followers in the North Africa region. From this region, and Tunisia in particular, hundreds of jihadists have headed to Syria to lend a hand to Jabhat al-Nusra, which has recently declared its allegiance to al-Qaeda. According to reports by international media outlets, a little more than 3,500 young men have left their country to fight a holy war thousands of miles away from their home. This has raised the concerns of the families of young recruits, who seek action from the Tunisian government to put an end to these recruitments.
The prevailing situation in this country, however, further complicates the task of local authorities in this regard. It is not like in neighboring Algeria, where security services have extensive experience gathered over the course of many years, particularly in the fight against terrorism.
