Algeria to carry out military exercise following Morocco drills

Algerian army Chief-of-Staff Ahmed Gaid Salah will carry out military exercise in the Second Military Region in Oran, the Algerian Ministry of National Defence said on Sunday.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaid Salah will visit the army base for an inspection from 8 to 11 April where he will be carrying out military exercises.

The exercise will involve use of live ammunition, noted the press release.

The military exercise "aims at monitoring the second phase of military fight and inspecting some units as well as holding orientation meetings with executives and members of the Second Military Region".

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The Algerian defence ministry's announcement came shortly after reports had noted that Morocco will conduct on Monday military drills near the Algerian borders, described as "the biggest in Royal Moroccan Armed Forces' history".

Morocco's drill will take place in the mountainous region of Jbel Saghro, where Algeria’s and Morocco’s forces fought each other in 1963.

On 3 Tuesday, Morocco Royal Armed Forces (FAR) had joint military exercise, called "African Lion", with the US and British armies in Tifnit, a coastal city south of Agadir.

Morocco has been seeking to strengthen its military capabilities, including by purchasing arms and upgrading its air fleets.  

In March, the US State Department agreed on a $4.8 billion deal to sell F-16C/D aircraft to Morocco to enhance its "ability to undertake coalition operations, as it has done in the past in flying sorties against ISIS in Syria and Iraq".