The 3rd Military Region is a

military region Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters ...

of the Algerian People's National Armed Forces. It has its headquarters at

Béchar Béchar () is the capital city of Béchar Province, Algeria. It is also a commune, coextensive with Béchar District, of Béchar Province. In 2008 the city had a population of 165,627, up from 134,954 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 2.1% ...

. The military region system, adopted shortly after independence, grew out of the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

wilaya A wilayah ( or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu, Pashto and ; ) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes from the Arabic root "''w-l-y''", "to govern": a ''wāli''—"g ...

structure and the need to fight regional insurgencies. Regional commanders control and administer bases, logistics, and housing, as well as conscript training. Commanders of army divisions and brigades, air force installations, and naval forces report directly to the Ministry of National Defense and service chiefs of staff on operational matters. During the 1980s, many of the army's combat units were concentrated in the 2nd Military Region (

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

) and to a lesser extent in the 3rd Military Region (Béchar). Adjacent to Morocco, the 3rd Military Region straddles the main access routes from that country. It also borders the

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

, embracing territory previously claimed by Morocco. The

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...

in the ''Military Balance 2020'' wrote that the 40th Mechanised Division was located at Béchar and the 38th Motorised Brigade at

Tindouf Tindouf () is the main town, and a Communes of Algeria, commune in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Algeria–Mauritania border, Mauritanian, Algeria–Western Sahara border, Western Saharan and Algeria–Morocco border, Moroccan borders. Th ...

. The 93rd Military Police Battalion is also separately reported to be based at Bechar.

Regional commanders

Mohamed Zerguini took up command of the region in 1969.{{Cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=La9hCQAAQBAJ&q=%22mohamed+zerguini%22+region&pg=PA25, title = North Africa (RLE Economy of the Middle East): Contemporary Politics and Economic Development, isbn = 9781317592983, last1 = Lawless, first1 = Richard I., last2 = Findlay, first2 = Allan, date = 15 May 2015 *Commandant Soufi Salah (-) *Colonel Liamine Zéroual (1984-1987) *Colonel

Mohamed Betchine Mohamed Betchine (; 28 November 1934 – 29 November 2022) was an Algerian military officer and politician who obtained the rank of general. Betchine joined the Algerian People's National Army during the Algerian War and later directed the Alge ...

(1987-1987) (see :fr:Mohamed Betchine) *Général Ahmed Gaïd Salah (-1992) *Général major Zoubir Ghedaidia (-2000) *Général major Ahcene Tafer (2000-2004) *Général major Saïd Chengriha (2004-2018) *Général major Mostefa Smaali (since 2018)

References

Military units and formations of Algeria

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...