The Algerian Land Forces ( Arabic : القوات البرية الجزائرية , lit. 'Algerian Land Forces', French : Forces Terrestres Algériennes ) are the land forces of the Algerian People's National Army . The forces' equipment is mostly supplied by Russia and China .
29-455: The forces include two armoured and two mechanised divisions, one of which is the 8th Armoured Division based at Ras El Ma , 90 kilometres from Sidi Bel Abbes , in the 2nd Military Region . The division was formed from the 8th Armoured Brigade after 1988 (the 8th Armoured Brigade seems to have been formed in 1976). The other armoured division was named by IISS 2017 as the 1st. Another is the 40th Mechanised Infantry Division apparently based in
58-509: A rugby union club, MC Sidi Bel Abbès. The economy centers on agriculture, particularly the production of cereals such as wheat and barley and the grape industry. A farm machine manufacturing complex is located there. There is an industrial zone which plays a major role in the city's economy. There are many markets in Sidi Bel Abbès. Souk el Felah and Souk el Lile are the main two markets for fruit and vegetables. Sidi Bel Abbès
87-550: A major reshuffle of positions in the guards, Brahim Fodhil Chérif was appointed in 2000 as head of the military region, replacing Major General Boughaba Rabah. Fodhil Cherif's commanded the "Special Forces" (ninjas) to go against the Islamic rebellion. The higher military school of the Territorial Air Defence Forces ( école supérieure de la défense aérienne du territoire ) is located at Reghaïa in
116-418: A measure of strategic importance after relations with Libya soured, but the military's main activities there and in the 6th Military Region are the construction and planting projects undertaken by conscript forces. The 6th Military Region was created in 1975 to cover the south. On February 24, 2000, there was a large changeover of military region commanders: four of the six were changed. From this reshuffling,
145-400: Is 14.7 kilometers in length, with 22 stations covering most of the main points in the city such as 3 Bus stations, Daira, University campus, Down Town, and Public Garden, although it doesn't serve the west of the city and the south. Sidi Bel Abbès has a railway station from which trains travel to Oran , Tlemcen , Bechar and Saïda . A rail link between Algeria and Morocco passes through
174-623: Is 75 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea . The present city, on the Wadi Sig River , developed around a French camp built in 1843. In 1849 a planned agricultural town was established around the existing military post. From the 1830s until 1962 the city was closely associated with the French Foreign Legion , being the location of its basic training camp, and the headquarters of its 1st Foreign Regiment . In
203-472: Is the capital (2005 pop. 200,000) of the Sidi Bel Abbès wilaya (2005 pop. 590,000), Algeria . It is named after Sidi bel Abbass, a Muslim marabout or noble man who is buried there. The city is the commercial center of an important area of vineyards, market gardens , orchards, and grain fields. It was formerly surrounded by a wall with four gates, and today is home to a university. Sidi Bel Abbès
232-416: Is the most famous music in the city and it is known of many rai chebs Like Djilali Amarna . Association football is the most popular sport in the city. The local football team is USM Bel Abbès, which plays in 24 Fevrier Stadium. Basketball , handball , and volleyball are also popular and are played in middle and high schools or sports complexes, such as Adda Boudjelal Sportive Complex. The city also has
261-437: Is well connected to other Algerian cities by roads. Oran is 70 kilometers north and Tlemcen is 90 kilometers west. The West-East Route passes near the city. The closest international airport is Oran Es Sénia , but the city is served by a domestic one: Sidi Bel Abbès Airport ( IATA : BFW , ICAO : DAOS ) but it is not for the public use. The Sidi Bel Abbès tramway line was opened on July 25, 2017. The light rail line
290-639: The 3rd Military Region . The mission of the 40th Division is usually the protection of the Algerian-Moroccan frontier. The IISS Military Balance 2013 named the other mechanised division as the 12th . There may be a single independent armoured brigade, the 41st Armoured Brigade in the In Amenas area, and the IISS said in 2020 that the 38th Motorised Brigade was located at Tindouf . There have also been French reports of an airborne division formed in
319-747: The 90eme Bataillon de police militaire (seemingly located at Béni Messous , in the suburbs of Algiers) and the 95eme Bataillon de police militaire (Constantine), but other sources give up to ten, with at least one per military region. The inventory of the Algerian Land Forces mainly includes equipment from the Soviet Union and its successor, Russia, and to a lower degree from China. The rank insignia of commissioned officers . The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel . Sidi Bel Abbes Sidi Bel Abbès ( Arabic : سيدي بلعباس ), also called Bel Abbès ,
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#1732765218976348-430: The 1980s, most of the army's combat units were concentrated in the 2nd Military Region ( Oran ) and to a lesser extent in the 3rd Military Region (Béchar). Chadli Bendjedid became head of the 2nd Military Region in 1964. Adjacent to Morocco, the 3rd Military Region straddles the main access routes from that country. It is also near the troubled Western Sahara , embracing territory previously claimed by Morocco. Much of
377-536: The capital of Algiers Much of the internal disorder and violence associated with economic distress and the Islamist movement of the 1980s occurred in this Military Region, as well as the 5th Military Region (Constantine). Army units were strengthened in and near the cities where attacks against the government and security forces have occurred. Regional commanders were originally all colonels, and Said Abid probably served in this rank from 1964 when he took over
406-515: The city but this link has been discontinued for political reasons. Sidi Bel Abbès has several historical landmarks. These include Place Carnot which was renamed Place 1er Novembre after independence. This is a square situated in the central city. Perrin Castle is a fortress situated between Sidi Bel Abbès and Sidi Lahcene and built in the French style of architecture, The town hall, also built in
435-431: The commanders of the 1st Military Region ( Mohamed Djenouhat ) and the 5th Military Region ( Abdelhamid Djouadi ) were both promoted to major general in 1992. The two southeastern regions — the 4th Military Region ( Ouargla ) and 6th Military Region ( Tamanrasset ) — were sparsely populated tracts of desert where a limited number of combat troops carried out patrols and occupied small outposts. The Ouargla region assumed
464-531: The early 1990s. This formation, the 17th Parachute Division , with five airborne regiments, seemingly similar to the French reporting, was listed in the IISS Military Balance for 2001-02 and 2006, but not listed in the 2007 edition. It was listed with four regiments and a special forces regiment in the 2017 edition (p. 368). After the end of the liberation war in June 1962, the first objective
493-438: The eighties, the army experienced considerable growth. Thus, in 1986, a restructuring began, based primarily on the implementation of large units combining firepower and gradual movement, i.e. combat divisions, equipped with sophisticated weapons systems and other equipment necessary for the use and maintenance of these systems. This modernization was not just about the hardware, but included all organizational areas and combat. Thus
522-466: The general structure of the army were consolidated with the creation of the main directions, the establishment of an effective organization, the opening of schools and instruction centers and sending abroad trainees for different weapons and services. Efforts to develop and modernize the ANP continued throughout the 1970s and 80s, at the organizational level with the formation of battalions and brigades. During
551-466: The historical French pattern was formally a cathedral. The FLN party office was in colonial times a military building. Sidi Bel Abbès has five hotels, including Beni tella and Eden , "Metropole I", "Metropole II", "Quods". 1st Military Region (Algeria) The 1st Military Region is a military region of the People's National Army of Algeria . It has its headquarters at Blida , and includes
580-417: The internal disorder and violence associated with economic distress and the Islamist movement has occurred in the 1st Military Region (Blida), which includes the capital of Algiers, and the 5th Military Region (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,
609-483: The late 1890s the town, described as being of Spanish appearance, had a civilian population of about 30,000. The main buildings were in the French military district of the Quartier Vienot .The training centre of the modern Algerian National Gendarmerie is located in Sidi Bel Abbès. In the 1930s much of the old city walls were demolished. Wide boulevards and squares replaced the traditional quarters, causing
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#1732765218976638-497: The presidential decrees published Wednesday 25 August in the Algerian Journal officiel ( Official Journal [ fr ] ). Général Mohand-Ameziane Si-Mohand was nominated to head the 3rd Military Region , Général Hassen Alaimia took command of the 4th Military Region and the 5th Military Region (Algeria) was placed under the command of Général Saïd Ziad . These nominations took effect from 1 August, according to
667-558: The previous French Army officers took power in the Algerian Armed Forces and the shift in power correlated with the change of a national service and a shift to greater professionalisation of the ANP. President Bouteflika, as Minister of Defence, nominated new commanders for military regions in August 2004. In 2010 there were a further series of changes. Bouteflika changed the commanders of three military regions, according to
696-498: The region. He appeared to be holding command during the 1965 Algerian coup d'état . Said Bey was chosen by Lt. Gen Mohamed Lamari to be the commander of the 1st Military Region in 1994, but Boughaba Rabah replaced him in 1997 after multiple massacres occurred in Blida. The commander of the 1st Military Region ( Mohamed Djenouhat ) (as well as the commander of the 5th Military Region ) were both promoted to major general in 1992. After
725-785: The same decrees. President Bouteflika also named new military region deputy commanders. In 2013, a 7th Military Region was formed at Illizi in the south. In 2016-17 Laurent Touchard said the land forces were 147,000 strong, with the Republican Guard (brigade, of nine regiments, two ceremonial); the 9th Commando Group; the 25th Special Forces Regiment; the 17th Parachute Division; two armoured divisions (1st, 8th); an armoured brigade, two mechanised infantry divisions, three mechanised and two motorised brigades, some 20ish independent infantry battalions, two artillery, seven anti-aircraft, and four engineer battalions (Touchard 2017, 17-18). Touchard lists three Military Police battalions including
754-740: The town to lose much of its former character. The city sits astride both banks of the Sig River , and lake Sidi Mohamed Benali . The lake provides a major water reserve for the area. Sidi Bel Abbès has a semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification BSk ). Sidi Bel Abbès has 26 regional neighborhoods. These are: Campus, Ben Hamouda, American Village, Rocher, Sidi Djilali, Environment, Gambetta, Maconi, Soricor, La Brimer, Londeau, Sidi Yacine, Saqia Hamra, Village Perrin, Village Bira, Adda boudjelal, El Makam, El madina el Mounaouara, Bab Eddaya, Boumlik (Campo), Downtown, Grebah, Cimitiere Houria, Cite 20 Aout, Village Tierre, Village de Gaulle. Rai music
783-493: 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
812-734: Was created the General Inspection of the PNA. The Algerian military provided young men, from disadvantaged backgrounds, the opportunity to move up in society. This opportunity played a strong role in southeast Algeria, the Aures and Nemencha mountains, where the Shawiyya Berbers lived. Algeria is divided into seven numbered military regions, each with headquarters located in a principal city or town. This system of territorial organization, adopted shortly after independence, grew out of
841-544: Was to establish a logistics organization to meet the needs of the army - a structure to feed, clothe, care for and train. The directorates of Stewardship, Hardware, Engineering and Health, Transport and Supply were the first to emerge. These directorates, which came quickly join those of the staff of the Air Force, Navy and Education, at the Ministry, would form the backbone of the National People's Army. The bases of
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