The Gendarmerie Nationale (Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

: الدرك الوطني, "El Dark El Watani"), is the national rural police force of Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

. As part of the Algerian Armed Forces

Military of Algeria

The People’s National Army is the armed forces of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria. Algeria has a large and reasonably well-equipped military to counter foreign and domestic threats...

 is commanded by a Major General who reports directly to the Minister of National Defense. In 2007 the gendarmerie

Gendarmerie

A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...

 consists of 60,000. Although generally regarded as a versatile and competent paramilitary force, the gendarmerie has been severely tested in dealing with civil disorder since 1988. It frequently has lacked sufficient manpower at the scene of disorder and its units have been inadequately trained and equipped for riot control. The gendarmerie, however, has demonstrated the ability to root out terrorist groups operating from mountain hideouts.

The current commander is Major-General Ahmed Boustila

Ahmed Boustila

Major-General Ahmed Boustila is the commander of the National Gendarmerie of Algeria.He is regarded as an opportunist in government and it is suggested that he may take the helm at the ministry of defence....

.

Duties

The gendarmerie is responsible for maintaining law and order in villages, towns, and rural areas; providing security surveillance over local inhabitants; and representing government authority in remote regions, especially where tensions and conflicts have occurred in the past.

Organization

The gendarmerie is organized in battalions, whose component companies and platoons are dispersed to individual communities and desert outposts. Its regional headquarters are in the same cities as the six military regional headquarters with subdivisions in the forty-eight wilayat.

Equipment

A highly mobile force, the gendarmerie possesses a modern communications system connecting its various units with one another and with the army. Equipment includes light armored weapons and transport and patrol vehicles. The force in 1993 had 44 Panhard M3

Panhard M3

The Panhard M3 VTT , armoured personnel carrier was designed as a private venture with the first prototype completed in 1969. The prototype had a single door in each side of the hull and twin doors in the hull rear...

 armored personnel carriers (an APC variant of the Panhard AML

Panhard AML

-Former Operators:: unknown number of AML-60s and AML-90s in service between 1960-1975.: 34 Eland 90s and Eland 60s in service with the Rhodesian Security Forces in 1979, passed on to successor state.-Trivia:...

.), 50 Fahd

Fahd (armored personnel carrier)

The Fahd is a 4x4 Egyptian armored personnel carrier, designed to fit the requirements of the Egyptian Military. The Fahd APC is relatively lighter, smaller, better armed, and less expensive than other modern APCs. It replaced older APCs in Egyptian service such as the BTR-40, and the Walid...

 armored personnel carriers, and 28 Mi-2

Mil Mi-2

The Mil Mi-2 is a small, lightly armored transport helicopter that could also provide close air support when armed with 57 mm rockets and a 23 mm cannon.-Design and development:...

 light helicopters.10 AgustaWestland AW109.

Training

In addition to utilizing training provided by the French since independence, the gendarmerie operates its own schools for introductory and advanced studies. The gendarmerie's main training center are at Sidi Bel Abbes

Sidi Bel Abbes

Sidi Bel-Abbes is capital of the Sidi Bel Abbès wilaya , Algeria. It is named after a Muslim holy man who is buried there. It is the commercial center of an important area of vineyards, market gardens, orchards, and grain fields. It is surrounded by a wall with four gates and there is a...

, The school officers is at Isser, about 80 kilometers east of Algiers.