Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia said his government has stepped up measures against potential threats of instability as unrest ripped through neighboring Mali, local media reported on Saturday.

During Friday's speech delivered in southern province Tamenrasset, some 400 km north of the Mali border, Ouyahia urged the provincial citizens (Tuaregs) to keep vigilant against potential threats aimed at sowing division in the North African nation.

The Tuareg rebels in northern Mali have recently declared state of independence. The rebels live just across the Mali-Algeria border.

The prime minister, who also held talks with the supreme Tuareg tribal leader Amenokal Ahmed Idabir, reassured that "the government has taken necessary measures to manage the situation," calling on the citizens to help foster the stability.

Algeria is closely following recent developments in its southern neighbor, particularly after the abduction of an Algerian consul in the city of Gao (northeastern Mali) and the declaration of Azawad independent state.