ALGIERS – Thursday, 03 August 2023 (APS) – Algeria will celebrate Friday the National Day of the People’s National Army, decreed by the President of the Republic Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in recognition of the pioneering roles of the military institution in protecting the homeland and achieving its noble constitutional missions to ensure the overall security, in accordance with an enlightened vision and in enshrinement of its constant cohesion with the Algerian people.
The heroic interventions of the units of the People’s National Army to rescue and help citizens surrounded by forest fires which affected recently some regions of the country and which were put out in record time, with the help of the units of the Forestry Commission and of the Civil Protection, illustrate perfectly this cohesion.
Ten soldiers were martyred in the evacuation operations of the citizens trapped by flames, proving once again the strong ties between the Army and the Nation.
This tragedy, which resulted in 34 victims, has strengthened the values of solidarity and mutual aid among the Algerians, as evidenced by the national surge of solidarity and the expressions of sympathy towards the families of the victims, civilians and soldiers, through the condolence and compassion messages which flooded social networks, including the message of condolences of the President of the Republic.
Photos of the victims were posted as well as videos immortalizing the heroism and bravery of the units of the People’s National Army, worthy heir to the National Liberation Army (ALN), facing the flames during rescuing operations, before controlling the fires with huge mobilized human and material resources.
The People’s National Army has remained, since the independence, “the standard bearer of the glorious martyrs and mujahedeen,” as stressed by the President of the Republic in his message on the occasion of the celebration of the 61st anniversary of Independence and Youth, paying tribute to the worthy heir to the National Liberation Army (ALN) “proudly and with dignity deployed on the borders and at the front to defend the country.”
The cohesion between the Algerian people and their devoted leaders and constitutional institutions, including the military institution, remains “the only guarantor to safeguard the country’s security and stability,” as affirmed by General Said Chanegriha, Chief of Staff of the People’s National Army, in a previous occasion where he stressed “the noble feelings of the authentic Algerian people towards their country which needs the efforts of everyone on the basis of mutual aid and solidarity, and also the constant and total commitment to serve Algeria and contribute to the safeguard of its security, stability and national sovereignty.”
The People’s National Army has experienced in the past few years an important leap in terms of modernizing and developing fighting and professionalism capabilities as well as developing human resources. It rigorously and competently executes combat readiness programs, with tactical exercises with real ammunition all year long.
The People’s National Army has also achieved remarkable results in the fight against terrorism and organized crime to defend the principles of the glorious Revolution, to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and security, to protect the borders, the territorial integrity and the people’s unity, in addition to its participation in the national economy promotion through a carefully considered strategy aimed to achieve self-sufficiency, meet the needs of the national market and develop a national industrial basis.
Historically, the People’s National Army is distinguished from the other armies of the world by the fact that it wasn’t instituted by a decree, an element, amongst others, which explains the deep significance of the national dimension and popular extension of the worthy heir to ALN, formed amid the suffering of the Algerian people who went through the worst ordeals and triggered one of the biggest revolutions of the contemporary history.
In commitment to this glorious history, a presidential decree N 22-217 of 8 June 2022 was promulgated on the institution of this national Day to celebrate the conversion of the National Liberation Army (ALN) into the People’s National Army on 4 August 1962, and underlines the continuation, tirelessly, by the military institution of its role “the country’s building process, the national unity and independence safeguard, the national sovereignty defense and the territorial integrity preservation.”