Algeria Launches Probe into Suspected Moroccan Spy After Polisario Leader’s Secret Hospital Visit Exposed

When Jeune Afrique announced in a publication the evacuation of the president of the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)" to Logroño, Algeria was not really worried. But when the Algerian intelligence services learned that it was their Moroccan counterparts who provided this information to the pan-African weekly, they are paralyzed with fear and are desperately searching for the spy. General Said Chengriha, Chief of Staff of the People’s National Army (ANP), immediately ordered the opening of an investigation, reports Assahifa English.

Already, the officers who are an integral part of the Algerian intelligence services, as well as the most important people involved in foreign operations, have been heard one by one just after the leak of information on the hospitalization of the separatist leader in Spain. Since then, the Algerian intelligence services have been limited to a restricted circle for fear that other information concerning the Ghali affair or any other affair will be disclosed. This situation is the source of tensions between Said Chengriha and Major General Noureddine Mokri, Director General of Documentation and External Security. The latter is also threatened with being dismissed from his duties.

Among the personalities targeted by the investigation, Ammar Belhimer, Minister of Communication and government spokesman. He is considered a man capable of revealing "sensitive information" to an outside party. All of the official’s contacts and meetings over the past three months have been reviewed. He was also heard as part of this affair of the leak of data on Ghali. In the past, Ammar Belhimer was at the heart of a sex scandal. He had had a relationship with "Hind", the ex-wife of the Turkish Consul General in Algiers, reports Maghreb Intelligence. According to the newspaper, this woman, whose role is to extend the influence of the Turkish lobby in Algeria, had obtained sensitive information about the neighbor to the east.

While the investigation opened in Algeria continues, Fouad Yazough, ambassador and director general of political affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, promises new revelations on the Ghali affair. "Don’t be surprised... The Moroccan services are among the most efficient," said the official, convinced that "more elements will be revealed in due course".