The Department of Intelligence and Security (DRS) (Arabic: دائرة الإستعلام والأمن) (french: Département du Renseignement et de la Sécurité) was the Algerian state intelligence service. Its existence dates back to the struggle for independence. In 2016, it was dissolved by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and replaced by the Direction des services de sécurité.

History

Formation, MALG

The DRS was formed as the '' Ministère de l'Armement et des Liaisons générales'' (MALG) during the

Algerian War for independence The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

, under the direction by Abdelhafid Boussouf, whose role was to lead both the national and international networks of the Front de libération nationale (FLN). After independence in 1962, and particularly with the accession of

Houari Boumédiène Houari Boumédiène ( ar, ; ALA-LC: ''Hawwārī Būmadyan''; born Mohammed Ben Brahim Boukherouba; 23 August 1932 – 27 December 1978) was an Algerian politician and army colonel who served as Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of Alge ...

to the leadership of the country in 1965, the Algerian intelligence services greatly professionalised and institutionalised. MALG was organized under five departments : # DTN: National Communications department # DDR: Documentation and Research department, responsible for military research # DVCR: Vigilance and Counter Intelligence # DLG: Army post network # Management of logistics for acquiring, storing, and routing weapons and equipment.

Sécurité Militaire

This change of internal organization was modeled to a large extent on the intelligence and internal security services of the then

Eastern bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

Nations. Renamed (french: Sécurité Militaire, lit=Military Security), its directives were: * Counter-espionage * Internal security * Foreign intelligence The first appointed Chairman of Military Security was the colonel Kasdi Merbah who stayed until the death of president Boumédiène in 1978. Then he was succeeded for a short time by colonel Yazid Zerhouni. President Chadli Bendjedid, who mistrusted the SM, dismantled it and renamed it the DGPS. Chadli appointed to the chair of the DGPS general Lakehal Ayat, reorganising the agency to work solely in foreign intelligence.

DRS

The

riots A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targeted ...

and turmoil of October 1988 caused president Chadli Bendjedid to dismiss General Ayat, who was succeeded by General Betchine. His tenure saw major political change, beginning with the advent of a

multi-party political system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coal ...

and the rise of the Islamist movement of the

FIS FIS or fis may refer to: Science and technology * '' Fis'', an ''E. Coli'' gene * Fis phenomenon, a phenomenon in linguistics * F♯ (musical note) * Flight information service, an air traffic control service * Frame Information Structure, a ...

. Betchine was then replaced by Mohamed Mediène in November 1990, who served until 2015. Following this, the Services changed its name once again, from DGPS to DRS. Outside observers have charged that Mediène was one of the junta of generals who forced the cancellation the 1991 elections which the Islamists were set to win, plunging the nation into a war against the Islamist, and greatly increasing the power of the military—and the DRS—in Algeria's government. It was in this period that the DRS reasserted its role in internal security, becoming an active player in the

Algerian Civil War The Algerian Civil War ( ar, rtl=yes, الْحَرْبُ الْأَهْلِيَّةُ الجَزَائِرِيَّةُ, al-Ḥarb al-ʾAhlīyah al-Jazāʾirīyah) was a civil war in Algeria fought between the Algerian government and various Is ...

of the 1990s. It reportedly had as many as 100,000 agents that infiltrated many segments of society. DRS agents infiltrated and manipulated terrorist groups, and repressed different Islamist groups. It also blocked negotiations both by the ruling and opposition powers with the FIS. In September 2013, the DRS was reorganized to bring more of its power under the state's control. In 2016, it was dissolved entirely and replaced.

Chairmen of the DRS

* Abdelhafid Boussouf from 1954 to 1958 *

from 1958 to 1965 * Kasdi Merbah from 1965 to 1978 *

Yazid Zerhouni Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni ( ar, نورالدين يزيد زرهوني) (1937 – 18 December 2020) was the interior minister of Algeria. He was born in Tunis. In 2000, he was hospitalized in Algeria, Algiers with an undisclosed condition. ...

from 1979 to 1981 * Lakehal Ayat from 1981 to 1988 *

Mohamed Betchine Mohamed Betchine ( ar, محمد بتشين; 28 November 1934 – 29 November 2022) was an Algerian military officer and politician who obtained the rank of general. Betchine joined the Algerian People's National Army during the Algerian War and ...

from 1988 to 1990 *

Mohamed Mediène General Mohamed Mediène ( ar, الجنرال محمد مدين), also known as Toufik (توفيق), is an Algerian intelligence officer who formerly served as head of the country's secret services, the Intelligence and Security Department (''D� ...

from 1990 to 2015 * Athmane Tartag since 2015 to 2019

References

External links

Algerians count cost of burying the past
Financial Times. July 4, 2007.
Algérie. Pratique persistante de la torture par la Sécurité militaire dans des lieux tenus secrets

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

. 10 June 2007.
Algeria: Unrestrained powers: Torture by Algeria's Military Security
Amnesty International. Index Number: MDE 28/004/2006. 9 July 2006. *Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

27 August 2007. DZA102593.E. Online. available at UNHCR Refworld, accessed 30 March 2009. *Martin Evans, John Phillips
Algeria: Anger of the Dispossessed
Yale University Press (2008) *Hugh Roberts
Demilitarizing Algeria
Carnegie Papers Middle East Program, Number 86. May 2007. *Yahia H. Zoubir, Haizam Amirah Fernández. North Africa: Politics, Region, and the Limits of Transformation. Routledge (2008) pp. 299–300 {{DEFAULTSORT:Departement Du Renseignement Et De La Securite Government agencies established in 1954 Government agencies disestablished in 2016 Law enforcement in Algeria Algerian intelligence agencies