Algerian Imam Attacked After Friday Sermon on Neighborhood Gangs

An attempted assault on an imam at a mosque in Algeria has reignited public debate over neighborhood gangs, following his Friday sermon addressing what authorities describe as “neighborhood gangs” in the country. The incident coincides with newly intensified state campaigns targeting these groups.

The president’s declaration of war

In July last year, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune stated that “the state is waging a fierce war against neighborhood gangs,” emphasizing that the security of Algerians constitutes a red line. He pledged to implement protective measures against these gangs.

Legal definition and scope

Algeria issued Legal Order No. 20-03 in 2020, defining such gangs as “any group composed of two or more individuals operating within residential neighborhoods, aiming to instill terror or create an atmosphere of insecurity through physical or verbal attacks against persons or their property.”

Tactics and visibility

According to Algerian media reports, these groups seek to assert control over residential zones by spreading fear among residents through widespread acts of robbery and violence. They document robberies and inter-group confrontations in videos posted on social media platforms to demonstrate their capabilities.

State mobilization without timeline

At the end of July last year, Tebboune declared that “everyone in the state is mobilized to eradicate the phenomenon of neighborhood gangs,” without specifying a timeframe or outlining the operational mechanisms authorities would employ.

Root causes identified in official reports

Despite the phenomenon’s persistence over past decades, Algerian authorities continue efforts to dismantle the underlying factors driving its expansion. Security and legal reports identify hallucinogenic pills and hard drugs as the primary fuel behind the proliferation of such assaults and the diminished awareness among perpetrators—youth groups that have evolved over time into organized gangs.

Social drivers cited in local studies

Local reports and studies also cite family breakdown, early school dropout, and high youth unemployment rates in new residential complexes as contributing factors to the spread of neighborhood gangs.