Tensions Between Aït Ouarabi and Chengriha
General Abdelkader Aït Ouarabi (aka General Hassan), current Director of Internal Security in Algeria, has signaled his intention to step down earlier than expected, according to our sources familiar with the matter. Upon assuming the position, General Abdelkader Aït Ouarabi faced a reality starkly different from the terms agreed upon with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. He discovered that his role was limited to executing directives from the military’s General Staff and the Central Directorate of Army Security (DCSA), leaving him with no operational autonomy.
This development aligns with our previous article “6 Critical Developments In The Algerian Intelligence And Judicial Apparatus,” which stated that currently, the most powerful institutional instruments within the Algerian regime are the DCSA, led by General Mahrez Djeribi and operating under the obsessive-paranoid authority of Army Chief Saïd Chengriha, and the CPMI, which functions under Chengriha’s direct and personal supervision. These two structures are central to the current regime’s consolidation of power and enforcement of internal preventive purges and domination.
Strict instructions to General Abdelkader Aït Ouarabi mandated that all decisions pass through the Chengriha’s General Staff, bypassing other military or presidency channels entirely. This environment constrained General Abdelkader Aït Ouarabi’s capacity to fulfill his mission independently and reshaped his initial understanding of the role.
Feeling marginalized and relegated to a symbolic position, General Abdelkader Aït Ouarabi communicated his intention to withdraw discreetly from the post. The message, delivered through an intermediary to General Mohamed Mediène (aka General Toufik), conveyed his readiness to leave the position for personal reasons, even under the pretext of health concerns.
General Mohamed Mediène’s response, however, was measured: he advised Hassan to remain in his current role until July 2025, promising him a promotion to major general at that time, after which the situation would be reassessed.
Abderrahmane Fares ✍️
