This change of internal organization was modeled to a large extent on the intelligence and internal security services of the thenEastern bloc Nations. Renamed (French:Sécurité Militaire,lit. 'Military Security'), its directives were:
The first appointed Chairman of Military Security was the colonelKasdi Merbah who stayed until the death of president Boumédiène in 1978. Then he was succeeded for a short time by colonel Yazid Zerhouni. PresidentChadli Bendjedid, who mistrusted the SM, dismantled it and renamed it theDGPS. Chadli appointed to the chair of the DGPS generalLakehal Ayat, reorganising the agency to work solely in foreign intelligence.
Theriots and turmoil of October 1988 caused president Chadli Bendjedid to dismiss General Ayat, who was succeeded by General Betchine. His tenure saw major political change, beginning with the advent of amulti-party political system and the rise of the Islamist movement of theFIS. Betchine was then replaced by Mohamed Mediène in November 1990, who served until 2015. Following this, the Services changed its name once again, from DGPS to DRS. Outside observers have charged that Mediène was one of the junta of generals who forced the cancellation the1991 elections which theIslamists were set to win, plunging the nation into a war against the Islamist, and greatly increasing the power of the military—and the DRS—in Algeria's government.[2]
It was in this period that the DRS reasserted its role in internal security, becoming an active player in theAlgerian Civil War of the 1990s.[3][4] It reportedly had as many as 100,000 agents that infiltrated many segments of society.[5] DRS agents infiltrated and manipulated terrorist groups, and repressed different Islamist groups. It also blocked negotiations both by the ruling and opposition powers with the FIS.
In September 2013, the DRS was reorganized to bring more of its power under the state's control. In 2016, it was dissolved entirely and replaced.[1]
Hugh Roberts.Demilitarizing Algeria. Carnegie Papers Middle East Program, Number 86. May 2007.
Yahia H. Zoubir, Haizam Amirah Fernández. North Africa: Politics, Region, and the Limits of Transformation. Routledge (2008)ISBN0-415-42921-8 pp. 299–300
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