Faced with mounting tensions in its relations with Morocco, a chaotic situation in Libya, plus widening instability in the Sahel, the Algerian government has resolved to overhaul and broaden the terms of the country’s general mobilisation provisions.
A draft adopted by the Council of Ministers on 20 April would empower the head of state – acting in concert with the High Security Council and the heads of the two parliamentary chambers – to draw from a wider pool of reservists in the event of a national crisis-driven call-up.
The move provides legal definition to a constitutionally amended provision dating from 2020, which authorised rapid and coordinated mobilisation of all the nation’s forces (civil, economic, institutional and military) in the event of armed conflict or foreign aggression, a threat to national sovereignty, an internal crisis or a natural disaster.
The mobilisation bill was initially placed on the parliamentary agenda in October 2024.
Since the onset of the diplomatic crisis between Algiers and Bamako, sub-Saharan students living in Algeria have been the target of growing hostility. Rising tensions with Morocco, Sahelian instability, and volatility in Libya – all have contributed to a general unease among Algerians, who have shared their concerns in recent months on social media about how officials are increasingly referring to the need to be wary of external dangers.
The terms governing Algeria’s military reserve system were redefined in 2022 by its National Defence Commission. The latest procedures distinguish between different levels of reservists based on how long it has been since they served in the army. These include those who left the ranks less than five years ago and those who have not been “active” for 15-to-20 years – officers over age 50 are exempt.
Those mobilised would be guaranteed pay equivalent to that of active military personnel of the same rank and level. Moreover, their return to their civilian jobs would be ensured since employers would be required to reinstate them on completion of the mobilisation period. Reservists unable to justify not responding to call-up would be subject to prosecution before a military court.
