Madar (Algiers) - Algeria's Ministry of National Defence announced on Sunday, November 1, 2026, the launch of a second decontamination operation at former French nuclear test sites in the south of the country, Anadolu Agency reported, citing a ministry statement.
The operation covers site E2 Beryl at In Ekker, in Tamanrasset province (6th Military Region), and was launched during celebrations of the 72nd anniversary of the start of the Revolution, the statement said.
The work is carried out with national expertise and resources under the ministry's supervision, in coordination with the national agency for the rehabilitation of former test sites, and the waste will be stored in dedicated concrete containers in line with international safety standards, the ministry said.
The ministry accused France of refusing to "assume its criminal responsibilities" and to hand over documents and maps of waste burial sites, which it said hampers development in the In Ekker (Tamanrasset) and Reggane (Adrar) areas.
France carried out 17 nuclear tests in the Algerian Sahara between 1960 and 1966: four atmospheric tests at Reggane between February 1960 and April 1961 and 13 underground tests at In Ekker between 1961 and 1966. It also conducted chemical tests at the B2-Namous site near Bechar until 1978, the agency said.
France, for its part, says the installations were dismantled and the sites handed back to the Algerian authorities under the Evian accords, and that the International Atomic Energy Agency carried out an assessment mission in 1999 at Algeria's request. The statement did not give the quantities of waste involved or a timetable for the operation.
