The two regimes were closely linked. Could the one in Algiers suffer the same fate as the one in Damascus?
“Algeria is one of the few countries that regrets the fall of the ‘Butcher of Damascus’,” writes Luc de Barochez in a column for Le Point. As recently as December 3, the Algerian regime expressed solidarity with Assad’s regime. Algeria has always been a loyal ally of Syria, Barochez notes. On closer inspection, the parallels between the two are striking: a shared history of French colonization, regimes rooted in Arab nationalism, military-centric governance, socialist rhetoric, support from the Eastern Bloc, animosity toward Israel, and a professed love for the Palestinians—at least those under Israeli rule, not Assad’s.
“Since the protests of 2011, Algeria has unwaveringly supported the Damascus regime, which has tortured its opponents in horrific ways, bombed its population with chemical weapons, and committed numerous massacres, including against Palestinian refugees in the Yarmouk district in southern Damascus. These atrocities did not deter Algiers from voting against Syria’s ostracization in the Arab League and later fighting for its reinstatement—an effort that ultimately succeeded in 2023.”
