Intel: How the death of its army chief opens new era in Algeria’s politics
Algeria’s longtime army chief died of a heart attack Dec. 23, further upending a sclerotic political system already reeling from the departure of its longtime strongman president in April.
Algeria’s longtime army chief died of a heart attack Dec. 23, further upending a sclerotic political system already reeling from the departure of its longtime strongman president in April.
Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah, 79, was one of the last remaining veterans of the war of independence against France. As army chief of staff since 2004, he was among a secretive group known simply as “le pouvoir” that made all the important decisions in Algeria’s nominally democratic system.
