Algeria's reaction to beheading

DW: How has Algerian society reacted to the beheading of a French citizen on its soil?

Mansouria Mokhefi: Algerians are terribly shocked. They are used to acts of terrorism, to things like attacks on government buildings or car bombs, but something like this is unprecedented. So, yes, they are very shocked. Also because he was a French citizen. Despite the hectic relations with France, despite a troubled and difficult past, Algerians are close to the French and they are very upset by what happened to a French citizen in their country.

They also see how this event brings the war and the upheaval of the Middle East into the heart of North Africa, moreover into a country that used to claim supremacy in the region, competence in counter-terrorism, and experience in fighting radical Islam. What happened this week is a major blow to all of those policies.

How much is known about Jund al-Khilafah or "caliphate soldiers," the group that killed Herve Gourdel?

We don't know much about them. Media reports say the group formed last August, but we know it was actually created earlier and was already acting in the Sahel and in Tunisia. What we did not know, however, is that it was active in Algeria as well.

What is its connection to "Islamic State" (IS)?

Pledging allegiance with the Islamic State is a scenario that has momentum today. The same thing happened with al Qaeda - every group related to them and pledged allegiance to the organization. This time it is to IS.

How is this incident likely to affect the relative stability in Algeria?

Firstly, it is worrying to see that the appeal of the Islamic State has resonance in the Maghreb. Everybody thought it would only spread in the Middle East and that the dynamic in North Africa was different. It is new to see this parallelism, this influence, this mimicking inside the Maghreb.

It also raises concerns about internal security. The government claimed to have dealt with terrorism, saying it had brought security back to the country and to the people. But we see the resilience of terrorism is still there, as was expressed very clearly with this event.

If the government has sold itself as being on top of terrorism, how deeply will this act of barbarism shake public confidence in the leadership?

Confidence in the government is already very low, and this event will do nothing to increase it. The government is very embarrassed by what happened and will respond by increasing security measures. It is already involved militarily at its borders with Mali, Tunisia and Libya and now, after this episode, it will have to increase its controls, patrols and check points within Algeria itself.

The whole thing will give the government more leverage to increase its control over the country. This is something the Algerian people will accept, albeit reluctantly, but it wont increase their confidence in the regime, which appears to them as corrupt, unjust and unfair.

Couldn't setting out to tackle a terrorist group such as Jund al-Khilafah be an opportunity for the Algerian government to increase its popularity?

It will increase the reliance on the efficiency this regime has already demonstrated, but it will not increase its popularity. It will not make more Algerians adhere to the regime, which they distrust tremendously. Yet even with their distrust and lack of confidence, Algerians re-elected President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who holds his legitimacy on his fight against terrorism, and on bringing security to the country.

What effect, if any, will it have on Franco-Algerian relations?

It is not going to have any effect on relations between France and Algeria, because both governments are cooperating on security issues, and they are very attuned to keeping this cooperation going on. In both their interests. They signed a new military partnership, and are increasing their cooperation. They will not allow this episode to jeopardize that. On the contrary, it will strengthen relations.

Algeria-born Mansouria Mokhefi is Special Advisor for the Middle East/North Africa program of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).