It now appears that no one saw the murder of Ali Tounsi, Algeria's national security chief, in his office last week. The interior minister has promised "full transparency" in the investigation but says: "The crime was without witnesses."

This is odd but no doubt convenient for the regime. Press reports at the time referred to several witnesses and one was even quoted by name.

Though the murder could be a self-contained incident, it is being widely linked to rivalries within the regime. The Moor Next Door blog has a long and detailed post about the internal tussles, and there's a shorter article in The Economist.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 5 March 2010.