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Algeria
Army
The army's personnel strength of 105,000 in late 1993 included
65,000 conscripts. The army's size nearly doubled after 1978,
largely to prepare for possible hostilities with Morocco over
the Western Sahara. After reaching a manpower strength of 120,000
in 1992 to deal with the pressures of domestic disturbances, financial
considerations required a cutback in personnel. The army commander
appointed in the spring of 1992 was Major General Khelifa Rahim,
who also served as deputy chief of staff of the armed forces.
Territorially, Algeria is divided into six numbered military
regions, each with headquarters located in a principal city or
town (see
fig. 11). This system of territorial organization, adopted
shortly after independence, grew out of the wartime wilaya
structure and the postwar necessity of subduing antigovernment
insurgencies that were based in the various regions. Regional
commanders control and administer bases, logistics, and housing,
as well as conscript training. Commanders of army divisions and
brigades, air force installations, and naval forces report directly
to the Ministry of National Defense and service chiefs of staff
on operational matters.
During the 1980s, most of the army's combat units were concentrated
in Military Region II (Oran) and to a lesser extent in Military
Region III (Béchar). Adjacent to Morocco, region III straddles
the main access routes from that country and includes most of
Algeria's hydrocarbon and manufacturing industries. It is also
near the troubled Western Sahara, embracing territory previously
claimed by Morocco.
Much of the internal disorder and violence associated with economic
distress and the Islamist movement has occurred in Military Region
I (Blida), which includes the capital of Algiers, and Military
Region V (Constantine). Army units have been strengthened in and
near the cities where attacks against the government and security
forces have occurred. Although regional commanders were originally
all colonels, the commanders of region I (Mohamed Djenouhat) and
region V (Abdelhamid Djouadi) were both promoted to major general
in 1992. The two southeastern jurisdictions--Military Region IV
(Ouargla) and Military Region VI (Tamanrasset)--are sparsely populated
tracts of desert where a limited number of combat troops carry
out patrols and man small outposts. The Ouargla region assumed
a measure of strategic importance after relations with Libya soured,
but the military's main activities there and in region VI are
the construction and planting projects undertaken by conscript
forces.
Originally organized as independent infantry battalions, the
ANP decided in 1966, based on Soviet advice, to form four mechanized
divisions. However, logistical problems and the high cost of associated
heavy weaponry soon forced a reassessment of the plan. In 1992
the army again began to reorganize on a divisional basis; hence
some units have been in a state of flux.
According to The Military Balance, 1993-1994, in 1993
the army's main combat units consisted of two armored divisions,
each with three tank regiments and one mechanized regiment, and
two mechanized divisions, each with three mechanized regiments
and one tank regiment. Furthermore, in 1993 there were five motorized
infantry brigades and one airborne special forces brigade. Each
infantry brigade consisted of four infantry battalions and one
tank battalion. In addition, in 1993 the army had seven independent
artillery battalions, five air defense battalions, and four engineering
battalions. The brigades had authorized personnel levels of 3,500
men, but all units were believed to be understrength.
Twelve companies of desert troops, each with about 400 men, functioned
as border guards. Originally these troops patrolled on camels,
but by the 1980s they relied extensively on light reconnaissance
vehicles. Two special riot units, said to number about 15,000
men, were assigned to maintain civil order. In addition to other
riot-control equipment, they reportedly were armed with shotguns.
The army was well equipped with both older and more up-to- date
models of Soviet armor and artillery. In 1993 it had nearly 1,000
tanks, including more than 600 T-62s and late-model T-72s. About
200 T-72s had been delivered since 1990. Earlier versions of wheeled
armored personnel carriers (APCs), the Soviet BTR-50 and BTR-60,
had been supplemented by BMP-1 and BMP-2 tracked armored infantry
fighting vehicles mounted with 73mm guns and a few with Sagger
antitank missiles. The army's extensive artillery inventory was
headed by Soviet 122mm and 152mm self-propelled howitzers. There
were also more than 100 122mm, 140mm, and 240mm multiple rocket
launchers in the inventory. The principal antitank weapons were
the Soviet Sagger and the French Milan. In addition to a variety
of towed and self-propelled air defense guns, the army had Soviet
SA-8 and SA-9 vehicle-mounted surfaceto -air missiles (SAMs) and
SA-7 man-portable SAMs (see
table 7, Appendix).
During the early years of the army's modernization in the 1960s
and 1970s, thousands of ANP officers went to the Soviet Union
for training. Since then, Algeria has established its own military
academies, although Russian advisers were still attached to the
ANP in 1993. Strategic and tactical doctrine continues to be based
on Russian models. Basic army cadet training is conducted at the
military academy at Cherchell, west of Algiers, the site of a
French interservices military school taken over by the government
in 1963. Officer candidates attend for three years, generally
followed by a year of specialized training before being commissioned
and assigned to field units. The Cherchell academy also includes
a staff college for advanced training of a limited number of field-grade
officers of all branches.
A number of other institutions are used to train army personnel.
Among these are the school for technical, administrative, and
logistical training at El Harrach, just southeast of Algiers;
the school for armored units at Batna; the school for artillery
units at Telerghma near Constantine; the school for infantry commandos
at Biskra; the school for communications technicians at Bougara,
on the outskirts of Algiers; and the school for desert cavalry
units at Ouargla.
The army's NCOs are trained at Ksar el Boukhari, about 100 kilometers
south of Algiers, where they receive instruction in leadership,
principles of command and control, tactical deployment, and political
indoctrination. The NCOs are often used in command positions in
smaller tactical units.
Data as of December 1993
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