Event Summary
During the first week of January 2026, lorry drivers and citizens were arrested in several provinces of Algeria following a lorry drivers’ strike initiated in response to the adoption of a new Traffic Code, perceived by some transport professionals as unfair and repressive. This social movement was accompanied by public expressions of rejection, including videos posted on social media recounting the mobilisation.
In the province of El Menia, on the evening of 5 January 2026, security services arrested four individuals, including three truck drivers—Aissa Belakahel, Youssef Messaoudi, and Lamine El Hamel—as well as Yahya Benhaoud, who had recorded a video documenting the movement. Their arrest is believed to be linked to their participation in the strike and the dissemination of content expressing their opposition to the bill, although the official charges have not been made public. Meanwhile, in the wilaya of Batna, a lorry driver known as Younes Haddar (alias “Houssam”) was arrested after participating in the strike and posting a video calling for the revision of the Highway Code. Similarly, in El Oued, another citizen, Hadj Djamel Haiour, was arrested in a similar context after documenting the strike in a video broadcast on 1 January 2026.
These arrests come in the context of a strike movement that has been affecting the transport sector nationwide since 1 January, in response to several elements of the new Traffic Code — notably penalties deemed severe for professional drivers — as well as a recent increase in fuel prices that is weighing on operating costs.