General Hassan Answers the Call and Assumes Leadership of Algeria’s Internal Security: The Return of a Key Intelligence Figure at a Critical Security Juncture

✍️ BY: Dzair Tube

In a strategic move signaling renewed vigilance, veteran counterterrorism officer General Abdelkader Ait Ouarabi—known as General Hassan—assumes leadership of Algeria’s General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), bringing back decades of elite field expertise at a critical geopolitical juncture

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Algiers, Algeria | May 25th, 2025 — In a decisive response to the escalating security challenges facing Algeria, particularly across its volatile southern frontier, the nation’s top leadership has reinstated one of its most seasoned and revered intelligence figures: General Abdelkader Ait Ouarabi, widely known as General Hassan. He has been officially appointed as the Director-General of Internal Security (DGSI), marking a powerful return to a position at the heart of Algeria’s national defense matrix.

 

General Hassan’s comeback is more than an administrative reshuffle; it is a strategic recalibration. A legend in intelligence circles, he is remembered not only for his rare operational precision but also for his visionary grasp of transnational threats long before they reached Algerian borders. His reappointment is widely perceived as the return of a man uniquely tailored for this moment of multidimensional instability—militarily astute, politically alert, and globally respected.

A Commander Forged in the Fires of Terror

General Hassan first emerged as a pivotal figure during the harrowing Black Decade of the 1990s, when Algeria was gripped by a bloody wave of terrorism. He joined the elite counterterrorism unit in 1992 and quickly rose through the ranks due to his fearlessness and battlefield discipline. Injured in a terrorist ambush in Blida, Hassan famously refused to leave the field, continuing his mission undeterred—a stance that earned him deep respect within military and civilian circles alike.

By 1993, his duties extended beyond Algeria’s borders. He was entrusted with high-risk intelligence missions across Africa’s conflict zones, including Chad, Senegal, Angola, and the wider Sahel. In one operation, he sustained severe injuries but was later commended by the United Nations Secretary-General, underscoring the international trust and recognition he had earned.

Architect of the SCORAT Network

Perhaps his most transformative role came as the head of SCORAT (Operational Coordination and Counterterrorism Intelligence Service), a unit credited with dismantling several transnational terrorist cells and penetrating enemy networks in Mali, Niger, and Libya. His strategic design of SCORAT allowed Algeria to move from reactive defense to proactive disruption of threats well beyond its borders.

General Hassan’s crisis leadership reached its zenith during the 2013 In Amenas gas facility hostage crisis in Tiguentourine. Faced with an unprecedented attack by a heavily armed jihadist group, Hassan masterminded a joint intelligence-military operation that not only neutralized the attackers but also intercepted a cache of high-grade weaponry—including anti-aircraft missiles intended for Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s faction.

The Strategist Returns at a Time of Urgency

Now, at a moment when Algeria faces a constellation of threats—including the resurgence of armed groups in the Sahel, intensified foreign intelligence activity, and a regional diplomatic freeze—Hassan’s return is viewed as an institutional declaration of zero tolerance for vulnerability. For years, he had warned of destabilizing forces entering Algeria through porous borders with Libya, Mali, and Niger. Today, those very warnings have crystallized into real-time risks.

His reinstatement to lead the DGSI reflects a deeper philosophical shift in Algeria’s security doctrine. This is not merely the appointment of a competent officer—it is a call to reassert operational sovereignty and intelligence primacy. As diplomatic channels face limits in navigating the increasingly crowded geopolitical chessboard of North Africa, Algeria is placing its trust once again in a man who knows the terrain, the tactics, and the stakes.

Strategic Significance Beyond Borders

General Hassan’s leadership extends well beyond traditional security management. His reappointment sends clear internal and external signals: domestically, it reassures citizens that the state is returning to a posture of intelligence-led security rooted in seasoned expertise; internationally, it signals to adversarial actors that Algeria remains vigilant, capable, and uncompromising in the face of foreign infiltration or asymmetric threats.

It is, in effect, a quiet yet powerful rearmament of Algeria’s defensive intelligence shield. And at its helm stands a man who has walked through fire, defied death, and whose foresight and operational acumen have been vindicated by history. General Hassan is not just back—he is back with purpose, at a time when Algeria can afford no missteps.

 

 

 

 

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