Algeria raids homes, arrests Kabyle separatists in northeast

Algerian authorities announced the arrest of a number of individuals from a separatist movement calling for the independence of the country’s Kabylia region, which Algiers designated a terrorist organisation a month ago.

A statement released by the public prosecutor’s office at the Draa El Mizan court in the eastern Tizi Ouzou province stated that security services arrested members of the Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylia, or MAK.

It said the arrests came after at least 64 residents of a town in the area accused MAK of "threatening to kill them, burn a mosque, insult the (Islamic) Prophet Muhammad and slander against the state.”

The statement confirmed that four people were apprehended, and alleged they had links to MAK after revealing their activity on social media pages affiliated to the group, which "publishes data and content… calling for compromising national unity, insulting Islam and calling for violence" in Algeria.

Inspections of the homes of those arrested led to the retrieval of devices, smart phones and documents "including the movement’s plans and its secret activities directed from abroad, which, after being exposed, revealed the identities of two facilitators," the statement continued.

The members were charged with "belonging to a terrorist group, undermining the government and seeking to change power through unconstitutional means," amongst other charges.

MAK is a Kabyle nationalist movement seeking self-autonomy and independence of the Kabylia region along the northeast coast of Algeria, which includes the Tizi Ouzou and Bejaia provinces.

Its leader, Ferhat Mehenni, is currently in exile in France.

Demonstrations have continued in Algeria by the Hirak protest movement seeking a complete overhaul of the regime it says is still very much present and in control of the country, despite ousting former president Bouteflika in 2019.

The country is also facing economic difficulties because of the drop in oil prices, as its economy relies heavily on petroleum.