The fight against terrorism calls on communications

2007-06-08

Engaged in a fight against terrorism since 1992, Algerian security forces have to constantly evolve to keep pace with innovations by terrorists, resorting to new information and communication techniques to prevent attacks and to convince terrorists to put down their weapons.

By Nazim Fethi for Magharebia in Algiers – 08/06/2007

[Getty Images] After the April 11th attacks, Algerian society has been called on to help counter the spread of terrorism

For the past two months, Algerians have received periodic text messages from national security services on their mobile phones, inviting them to collaborate in the struggle against terrorism. More than 20 million mobile phone users were given the toll-free number 1519, to be used to report suspicious behaviour or potential terrorist activities. The government’s message was also broadcast on television and radio, reminding citizens that "the terrorist danger remains present and that its eradication is everyone’s business".

The spread of mobile phone use in Algeria, notably amongst young people, has provided the security services with a useful tool to communicate with the population, in conjunction with their poster campaigns inviting citizens to be "vigilant and civic-minded" toward terrorist threats.

The rapid growth of the mobile phone market in Algeria has also aided terrorist groups. Police have reported that portable phones were initially used to co-ordinate attacks, but since early 2007 have also been used to detonate bombs remotely.

The Algerian government has imposed stricter control measures over second-hand mobile phone sales, requiring dealers to demand identification from all buyers. This segment of the market was previously unmonitored, with many dealers selling phones on the black market to anonymous customers.

Those leading the fight against terrorism are not content with simply communicating through SMS or posters. They have decided to go door-to-door to the families of known terrorists, to ask them to convince their children to renounce violence and to benefit from the amnesty provided under the charter for peace and national reconciliation. The operation expanded after the April 11th bombings in Algiers, and repeated visits to the bombers’ families by police officers yielded, in the span of a few days, the location and neutralisation of the network responsible for the attacks.

These community-based operations have also convinced several terrorists to turn themselves in. They may also have contributed to recent dissent within terrorist groups responsible for attacks. Hassan Hattab, founder of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which later became al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb, was the first to denounce the new methods of the group’s new leader, Abdelmalek Deroukdel, targeting civilian populations through suicide operations. Hattab and many of his followers are said to be close to putting down their weapons. It is reported he would be followed by Mokhtar Belmokhtar, who controls the great Algerian Sahara and wields influence in the Sahel region.

Since October 2006, security forces have also employed wiretaps in the execution of their anti-terrorism operations. This latest development comes under authorisation from a new amendment to the Algerian criminal code that allows the practice "under the control of the public prosecutor".