Seven gold miners killed as Tebboune meets Algerian military
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Yabiladi
Tuareg residents of Tin Zaouatine and Timiaouine are mobilising after seven Algerian gold miners were killed in strikes attributed to the Algerian army. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune met the military high command on 28 October, but the presidency did not link the meeting to the protests, according to its statement.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune chaired a coordination meeting with the military high command on Wednesday 28 October, after seven Algerian gold miners were killed on 22 October in air strikes attributed to the Algerian army in the south of the country, according to Yabiladi. Chief of Staff General Saïd Chengriha attended the meeting.
The Algerian presidency did not specify the meeting’s agenda or link it to mobilisations by Tuareg residents in Tin Zaouatine and Timiaouine. The protesters are calling in particular for the reopening of border posts with Mali and measures against “abuses” attributed to the armed forces, according to Yabiladi.
The Algerian Ministry of Defence had previously announced that it had “eliminated African gold miners” in the area under the 3rd Military Region. The protests come as Algiers approved the deployment of units to Niger on 25 October, though their arrival date and numbers remain unknown. The decision concerns, among other things, the protection of the Kafra oil field, according to the deployment of Algerian troops to Niger.
