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• According to a statement released by the Ministry of National Defense (MDN) on March 21, three People’s National Army (ANP) personnel were killed in a clash with militants in Bordj Badji Mokhtar’s Timiaouine on March 20.  
• Timiaouine is located along the Algeria-Mali border and lies approximately 500km northwest of In Guezzam’s border area with Niger. 

1. Algeria’s southern border regions with Niger and Mali, are highly volatile as the two Sahelian countries constitute hotbeds of militant activity by both Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam waal Muslimeen (JNIM) of which al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is a part, as well as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS). Additionally, smuggling routes also pass through the Algeria-Mali-Niger border region, with militants and armed transnational smuggling syndicates transferring weapons and people between Libya and West Africa. A clash with such groups recently resulted in casualties among ANP personnel in In Guezzam’s border area with Niger on January 28. 
2. Algerian authorities however have explicitly stated that the latest clash involved militants. This is plausible given that several indications were given in the past to suggest that militants periodically attempt to entrench in Timiaouine’s area. Most notably, on February 9, 2020, Islamic State (IS) militants conducted a car bomb attack against an ANP base in the area. Prior to that, in November 2019, ANP personnel clashed with IS militants in nearby Taoundart. Therefore, it is possible that the ANP personnel in the current incident either launched an operation to clamp down on militants, potentially based on intelligence, or alternatively, were the victims of an active militant attack. FORECAST: Regardless, this incident reiterates the high volatility along Algeria’s border regions and the destabilized security environment specifically along the Algeria-Mali border. The ANP will likely bolster its presence in the area as well as in and around border crossings between Algeria and its southern neighbors over the coming days. 

1. Travel to Algiers may continue while adhering to security precautions regarding civil unrest. Contact us at Operations@max-security.com or +44 20-3540-0434 for itinerary and contingency support options. 
2. Avoid all travel to the vicinity of Algeria’s border regions with Tunisia, Mali, Niger, and Libya due to the heightened threat of militant activity as a result of a spillover of violence from these countries.