The Nova agency has announced that the Algerian security forces have arrested six people involved in the trafficking of human beings along the border with Libya. Algerian sources report that the people stopped were on board two jeeps.
They are believed to be part of the largest gang of migrant smugglers in the area. Algerian police also temporarily arrested 27 migrants arrested in the Djanet area of southern Algeria on charges of attempting illegal entry into Libya.
On 23 January, the Algerian foreign minister, Abdel Kader Messahel, said he did not foresee a reopening of the borders between his country and Libya in the future. Speaking to the Algerian state radio station in French, the head of diplomacy in Algiers said that “there are currently 6 Islamic State militiamen in Libya. Algeria is in fact convinced that "the terrorists fleeing Syria and Iraq will go to Afghanistan or Libya and the Sahel countries".
In order to combat terrorism in the region, Masshel said that he was convinced of the need to "intervene with a military training and border security mission that will also help the Libyan brothers".