Algeria condemns US travel advisory

By Abdul Razak bin Abdullah

ALGIERS (AA) – The Algerian Foreign Ministry on Thursday described a U.S. warning against traveling to Algeria -- due to the alleged risk of a terrorist attack -- as a "distorted" claim that "does not reflect reality".

On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department issued a statement warning U.S. nationals against traveling to remote areas of southern and eastern Algeria "due to the possible threat of terrorist attacks or kidnapping".

The Algerian Foreign Ministry responded on Thursday with a statement of its own in which it asserted that the U.S. travel advisory did "not reflect the reality of Algeria’s security situation".

"The security of Algeria is permanently stable thanks to the policy of national reconciliation advocated by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and the high price paid to eliminate terrorism," the statement read.

The ministry went on to assert that the U.S. travel advisory would be detrimental to bilateral ties and bilateral cooperation against terrorism.

Since the 1990s, the Algerian security services have fought against several terrorist organizations. In recent years, however, these groups’ activities have largely been confined to remote parts of the country.