Algeria has around twenty military bases and barracks along its border with Morocco, some of which are old and date back to the French colonial era. The eastern neighbor is currently completing the construction of a new base in the same area, first announced in 2020, and featuring a strategic airstrip. Here's what you need to know. Algeria has begun constructing temporary airstrips near its border with Morocco, designed to accommodate tactical transport aircraft such as the C-130, reports the Atlantic Observatory of Defense and Armament (OADA) on X. «These airstrips (located between Béchar and Boudnib, north of Meridja, ed.) could be used in wartime to ensure rapid logistical support, transport troops to the front lines, or evacuate the wounded and dead», OADA noted. A Moroccan security source told Yabiladi that «the construction of these airstrips is only the first step in Algeria's plan to establish a new military base facing the kingdom, despite already having several in the area — including an operational base in Tindouf, just 75 kilometers from the Moroccan border». In fact, in 2021, the Algerian army launched an expansion of the Tindouf base to accommodate Sukhoi fighter jets ordered from Russia. Algiers recently received the first batch of these aircraft, although one of them has already crashed during a training exercise. Response to Jerada Barracks and Morocco's Eastern Military Zone This Algerian project dates back to the spring of 2020 and was revealed by Algerian media shortly after Morocco officially announced, in the Official Bulletin published on May 21, 2020, its intention to build a military barracks in Jerada, just 38 kilometers from the Algerian border. «At the highest level, Algerian authorities decided — in accordance with the principle of reciprocity — to build a strategic military base near the Moroccan one (Jerada) to protect the country's borders and national security from the direct threat this presence represents», wrote Echoroukonline. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune neither confirmed nor denied the project during an interview with France 24 on July 4, 2020. Two years later, in February 2022, an African media outlet reported on Algeria's plan to build a new base in the Béchar region, which falls under the country's 3rd military region. A month earlier, Morocco's Royal Armed Forces (FAR) had established the Eastern Military Zone — the third of its kind in the kingdom. «This race between Morocco and Algeria to build bases, barracks, acquire weapons, or conduct military exercises will continue», said a Moroccan security source in a statement to Yabiladi. «It's part of each country's broader strategy to secure its borders and prepare for any potential threat from its neighbor».
