More ethnic violence has broken
out in the south (Ghardaia, 600 kilometers south of the capital) where
at least a dozen were injured in street fighting between Arabs and
Berbers. There was also a religious element to the hostility as the
local Berbers belong to a Shia sect. Algerians Arabs tend to be Sunni
and Sunni conservatives consider Shia heretics. An increasing number of
Berbers are also converting to Christianity, as a protest against the
continued persecution of Berbers. This further infuriates the Sunnis.
The government says that only 11,000 (out of 34 million) Algerians are
Christian. But Christian religious leaders say the number is 30,000 and
growing fast, especially among Berbers. The government fears these
Berber Christians and Berbers in general. The Berbers, a people related
to the ancient Egyptians, were the original occupants of Algeria. Arab
armies conquered the country over a thousand years ago, but, unlike
other Arab conquests, most Berbers did not adopt Arab language and
customs. Today, about a third of Algerians are Berbers, and speak the
Berber language, Tamazight. There has always been tension between
Berbers and Arabs, and now Berbers are demanding that their language be
made one of Algeria's official languages. The Arab dominated government
refuses to consider this.
In the Atlas Mountains just across the Tunisian border police
and soldiers have been searching for about fifty Islamic terrorists who
are operating near the Kasserine Pass. Tunisian security personnel are
searching a hundred square kilometers of sparsely populated forests and
mountains without much success. Algerian border security in that area
has been increased in case the terrorists try to flee into Algeria. This
is the first time Tunisia has had to deal with armed Islamic terrorists
since 2007. These armed men have been active in the area for at least
six months. Some of these terrorists recently fled Mali and others are
from Algeria. These were joined by a smaller group (a dozen or so) of
Tunisian Islamic terrorists who had apparently not been active until
joined by all these new men and a few local recruits. Eleven of the 32
terrorists killed nearby in an attack on an Algerian natural gas field
in January, were Tunisian, which provided a hint that there were a lot
more Islamic terrorists in Tunisia than the government wanted to admit.
The defeat of al Qaeda in Mali has sent hundreds of
experienced Islamic terrorists looking for a new refuge. Algeria,
because of its large and experienced counter-terrorism forces, is not
seen as a suitable destination. Tunisia and Libya, on the other hand,
are. Many of these Mali refugees have also gone to Europe, despite the
large and alert counter-terrorism forces there.
May 5, 2013: Police attacked several hundred young people
demonstrating outside parliament and demanding economic reforms that
would create more jobs. Several demonstrators were arrested and dozens
injured. The unemployment rate of those under 35 is over 20 percent and
many who are employed don’t get paid much. The government has created a
lot of pointless and low-paid government jobs that just make those
getting them more eager for a real job. More jobs are not being created
because of decades of government corruption and rules that discourage
entrepreneurs and new businesses that would threaten those run by
friends of the government. Despite this discontent, no one has been able
to get large scale and persistent demonstrations going. This is partly
because the police have been able to detect and disrupt attempts to
organize larger protests. This is largely due to the internal
intelligence services, which became larger and more effective during the
anti-terrorism campaign of the 1990s and did not “demobilize” after the
terrorists were defeated a decade ago. So when the Arab Spring came
along two years ago, the Algerian government was ready (which similar
governments in neighboring Tunisia and Libya were not).
May 2, 2013: In the south (Chlef province) police arrested a
man wearing an explosive belt and prevented a suicide bomber attack. The
arrested man was recruited by al Qaeda.
April 28, 2013: An air force patrol spotted four vehicles
carrying armed men crossing the Libyan border. Soldiers were sent to
intercept and the resulting gun battle left five Islamic terrorists and
three soldiers dead. Another ten terrorists fled into the desert and
troops pursued them. This was the largest clash with Islamic terrorists
since the terrorist raid on a natural gas field near the border in
January.
Three local defense force volunteers were killed 70 kilometers
east of the capital. The attackers were believed to be Islamic
terrorists, which the 94,000 local defense force volunteers watch out
for. First organized in 1994, the defense volunteers were a key element
in defeating the Islamic terrorist uprising of the 1990s.
April 27, 2013: President Bouteflika suffered a mild stroke
while visiting France. The 77 year old Bouteflika is one of the 1950s
revolutionaries who led the battle for independence. He has been
president since 1999 and has continued the post-revolution of rigged
elections and corruption. This is what the Islamic radicals rebelled
against in the 1990s. That uprising was defeated mainly because the
Islamic radicals seemed even worse than the corrupt “old
revolutionaries.” Most Algerians are still unhappy with their government
but not willing to suffer through another revolution, not yet.
April 25, 2013: Two local security volunteers were wounded by a roadside bomb 510 kilometers east of the capital.
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