It was an overwhelming silence. Algeria’s official media outlets, which are under the regime’s control, did not utter a word about the dramatic events on September 18 and 19, when the greater Algiers area was locked down by security forces, an imposing operation that had not been seen since the “Black Decade” of the 1990s. The Algerian public was told nothing, at least not by official sources, about a political drama that was playing out behind the scenes: Power struggles that revolved around the mysterious disappearance of the former head of the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), Abdelkader Haddad, also known as Nasser El-Djinn, who had been placed under house arrest in the hills above Algiers after his dismissal, in May.

Did the fugitive, who escaped in a security breach that revealed fierce inter-clan rivalries within the ruling elite, ultimately get arrested, after several days on the run? Or did he surrender, after negotiating his terms, as several Algerian influencers living abroad claimed, citing leaks shared by their “security sources”? Or perhaps he managed to reach Alicante, in Spain, traveling by boat, as reported by an article in the Spanish online newspaper El Confidential, published on September 25? Observers of Algerian politics were left to speculate.

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