Algeria has declared its border with Libya an access-restricted area after its ambassador was evacuated from Libya due to abduction threat, an Algerian security source told Xinhua on Saturday on condition of anonymity.

Algeria has deployed some 50,000 troops along its 1,000 km border with Libya, as intelligence warned of potential attacks by armed groups linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb against the Algerian forces, the source noted.

Algerian ambassador to Libya Abdel Hamid Bozaher and his diplomatic staff were evacuated to Algeria later on Thursday due to threats by militants linked to al-Qaeda. The militants planned to abduct the Algerian ambassador as a swap for Libyan militants detained in Algerian prisons, a security source said.

Algeria has been deploying more troops on borders with Libya and intensifying air reconnaissance to thwart potential intrusion of militants and weapons from strife-torn Libya.

Algeria says that the militants, who targeted last year the gas plant of Tiguentourine in In-Amenas, about 1,700 km southeast of the capital Algiers, intruded from Libya. The armed group took some 800 workers as hostages, forcing the Algerian special forces to storm the field to release the hostages. The rescue operation left more than 37 people dead, including 36 foreigners. Some 29 assailants were killed and three captured alive. Endi

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