HIBAPRESS
Media reports have indicated a new chapter in the power struggle within the ruling circles of Algeria, following the authorities' arrest of the former intelligence chief Abdelkader Haddad, known as "Nacer El-Djen," a move that has ignited a new storm within the military establishment and confirmed the depth of divisions plaguing the existing regime.
According to the French magazine "Le Point," the arrest took place last Wednesday when General Haddad, 56 years old, was heading to the office of his successor, Major General Abdelkader Aït-Ouarabi, nicknamed "Hassan," before being ambushed by elements of the internal security apparatus and taken directly to the military court in Blida, which ordered his pre-trial detention. This development came after weeks of controversy surrounding the fate of the controversial security official, amid leaks about his alleged escape to Spain on a boat for illegal immigration, according to the Spanish newspaper El Confidencial, which claimed he owned properties in Spanish territories and resided there between 2015 and 2019 to escape internal conflicts within his country. According to the French magazine, this incident caused a state of maximum alert within the state apparatus and revealed a clear confusion within the structure of the regime, as various media outlets circulated contradictory accounts between those who said he had fled and those who claimed he had committed suicide, until his arrest was confirmed. It is this chaos that reflects the fragility of coordination between security institutions and deepens the divisions that erupted since the death of the former Chief of Staff Ahmed Gaïd Salah. General Haddad, who served as the director of internal intelligence between July 2024 and May 2025, was one of the closest associates of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and one of the engineers of his support in the second term battle during the fall of 2024. However, his sudden dismissal after less than a year raised doubts about internal score-settling and a power struggle between the conflicting wings of power. "Nacer El-Djen" is considered one of the most controversial security figures in Algeria, as his name is associated with bloody files dating back to the "Black Decade," from kidnappings and assassinations that targeted opponents inside and outside the country, as well as reports that spoke of his involvement in attempts to target the opponent Hicham Aboud in Spain and the activist Amir Boukhors, known as "Amir Dz" in France, within the regime's repressive policy to silence critical voices abroad. The data indicates that Haddad had previously fled to Spain after his dismissal from a sensitive position years ago, then later returned to be reinstated at the head of the intelligence apparatus after the death of Gaïd Salah, before the regime turned against him again. This time, his story seems more symbolic, as it reflects the state of dangerous division that is striking at the core of the Algerian military establishment, which no longer hides the factional war that has ousted a number of senior generals and officials in recent years.
