Algeria Again? Contemporary affairs

[Steve Blair]

A nice round-up of stories on current events in that country.

link.

Algeria's unease

bbc Wednesday, August 20, 2008 8:23:00 PM CEST More about this article...

Other categories:Security; TerroristAttack;

The Algerian rebels are thought to have remained focused on fighting their own government, while drawing on international Islamist grievances to raise their profile and attract new recruits. Meanwhile, the Algerian government has insisted the rebels are on the verge of being eliminated....

[Jedburgh]

The Economist, 11 Sep 08: A real network of terror?

Two years ago a ruthless Algerian terrorist outfit, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, better known by its French abbreviation, GSPC, announced it was joining al-Qaeda. Since then, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), as the group is now known in counter-terrorism circles, has stepped up a bombing campaign in Algeria and claimed responsibility for operations in several other North African countries. Last month the Moroccan government said it had broken up a terrorist cell with links to the group, while Algeria has toughened its security measures since more than 70 people were killed in attacks by AQIM in the last two weeks of August. The emergence of a powerful regional group of Islamist insurgents, recruiting members from among the millions of religious and poor North Africans, is rattling all the governments in the region and raises the unnerving prospect of a new wave of North African bombers heading for the cities of western Europe. But does AQIM really exist as a co-ordinated regional organisation?

So far there is little evidence that it does......

[davidbfpo]

An intriguing report:

The ministry says Atmane Touati — alias Abu El Abbas — gave up after his wife "convinced her husband to abandon the criminal horde and come home."

Link:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100531/...amic_militants

[davidbfpo]

A country that rarely allows unrestricted media access and rarely given attention, so good to see this analysis. Opens with, slightly edited:

The Algerian government is working to prevent North Africa's revolutionary tide from reaching its shores.

For months now, Algerian authorities have been busy pre-empting a potential threat of revolution. The success of popular movements in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt sent alarming signals to government circles that Algeria was next in line to experience revolutionary change.

The effect has been so strong that local governments in the eastern part of Algeria have instructed police to relax street regulations, including allowing motorists to drive without a proper vehicle tax document.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14167481

[davidbfpo]

A rare news article on Algeria, undoubtedly due to an invitation to the foreign press to report on this Thursday's elections:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...es-arab-spring

Alongside a comment piece:http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...t-expectations

Someone clearly believes in saving, saving and saving - with my emphasis:

At present, Algeria has a staggering bank reserve of $200bn from oil and gas revenues – though the people are not benefiting from this. According to a recent report of the International Monetary Fund, youth unemployment in Algeria stands at 21% (two-thirds of the population is under the age of 35).

[davidbfpo]

Algeria wrested independence from France in 1962 after a bitter and extremely violent eight-year struggle. The legacy has continued to shadow its efforts to create a workable model of development and a humane life for its citizens. Francis Ghils invokes a wealth of memory from his years reporting Algeria - in particular, a pivotal few months in 1991 - to reflect on a compelling country's troubled half-century.

Fascinating insight:http://www.opendemocracy.net/francis...gerian-odyssey

I always puzzled at how a revolution turns in on itself and after 1991 Algerians truly terrified each other.

[davidbfpo]

Algeria despite its size, oil & gas resources, position and history rarely gets English language coverage, it is so refreshing to see this Time article; it starts wth:

One wet, chilly February morning, Ali Zaoui climbed into his car in Algeria’s capital, drove 300 miles south into the desert, and knocked on the door of a three-bedroom house in the oasis city of Ghardaïa. Zaoui was well known to the occupants. They were the parents of the then most wanted man in North Africa, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the one-eyed Islamist commander who had masterminded the hostage siege in January at a natural-gas plant in his native Algeria. The attack resulted in the deaths of 38 foreigners, including managers and specialists of Western oil companies. It was Algeria’s worst terrorist attack in years, and the worst ever for the global oil industry, anywhere. Zaoui, a veteran anti-terror fighter for Algeria’s security services, had spent years coaxing armed militants to surrender under an amnesty program and had come to know Belmokhtar’s parents well over five years of trying to persuade one of Algeria’s most fearsome jihadists to surrender. He never had won over Belmokhtar. But Zaoui thought they had an understanding: Don’t target Algeria.

Link:http://world.time.com/2013/04/01/the...ttles-algeria/