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Algeria begins second clean-up of French nuclear test site at In Ekker

2 November 2026 · Algeria Now

Algeria begins second clean-up of French nuclear test site at In Ekker — Photo : i.dzs.cloud (adresse collée)

ALGIERS — Algeria's Ministry of National Defence announced on Sunday the start of a second operation to clear radioactive waste from the Beryl E2 test tunnel at In Ekker, in the southern province of Tamanrasset, and accused France of refusing to hand over the records needed to finish the job.

The operation began on 1 November, the 72nd anniversary of the outbreak of Algeria's war of independence. In a statement, the ministry said the work is being carried out with national human and material resources, under its supervision and in coordination with the national agency for rehabilitating the former French test sites in the south. The site lies in the 6th Military Region.

According to the ministry, teams will mark and identify the radioactive zones, collect the waste on site and store it in concrete containers, in line with national and international safety standards.

The ministry said France has refused to assume its criminal responsibilities and to supply the maps and registers showing where waste was buried. That refusal, it said, holds back development in In Ekker, in Tamanrasset province, and in Reggane, in Adrar province. Algeria will continue with its own means until the former sites are fully cleaned up, it added. No French response to the statement was available at the time of writing.

France carried out 17 nuclear tests in the Algerian Sahara between 1960 and 1967, four in the atmosphere and 13 underground, at Reggane and In Ekker. More than six decades later, the waste left behind still endangers local residents.

The tests began while Algeria was still under colonial rule, and Algiers presents the question as one of historical responsibility and of the right of Saharan communities to live in a safe environment.

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