List of Algerian massacres of the 1990s
Encyclopedia
During the Algerian Civil War
of the 1990s, a variety of massacre
s occurred. The Armed Islamic Group (GIA)
has avowed its responsibility for many of them, while for others no group has claimed responsibility. In addition to generating a widespread sense of fear, these massacres and the ensuing flight of population have resulted in serious depopulation of the worst-affected areas. The massacres peaked in 1997 (with a smaller peak in 1994), and were particularly concentrated in the areas between Algiers
and Oran
, with very few occurring in the east or in the Sahara
.
This incomplete list currently covers only events in which over 50 civilians or prisoners were killed; the number of smaller massacres which also occurred is far more numerous. It is not necessarily exhaustive, and sources frequently disagree on the number of deaths.
Wilaya of Algiers
Wilayas of Bouira
Wilaya of Chlef
Wilaya of Medea
Wilaya of Relizane
Wilayas of Tiaret and Tissemsilt
Algerian Civil War
The Algerian Civil War was an armed conflict between the Algerian government and various Islamist rebel groups which began in 1991. It is estimated to have cost between 150,000 and 200,000 lives, in a population of about 25,010,000 in 1990 and 31,193,917 in 2000.More than 70 journalists were...
of the 1990s, a variety of massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
s occurred. The Armed Islamic Group (GIA)
Armed Islamic Group
The Armed Islamic Group is an Islamist organisation that wants to overthrow the Algerian government and replace it with an Islamic state...
has avowed its responsibility for many of them, while for others no group has claimed responsibility. In addition to generating a widespread sense of fear, these massacres and the ensuing flight of population have resulted in serious depopulation of the worst-affected areas. The massacres peaked in 1997 (with a smaller peak in 1994), and were particularly concentrated in the areas between Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
and Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
, with very few occurring in the east or in the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
.
This incomplete list currently covers only events in which over 50 civilians or prisoners were killed; the number of smaller massacres which also occurred is far more numerous. It is not necessarily exhaustive, and sources frequently disagree on the number of deaths.
Wilaya of AlgiersAlgiers' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
- Serkadji prison mutinySerkadji prison mutinySerkadji prison is a high-security prison in Algiers, Algeria; in 1995, about two-thirds of the 1,500 prisoners detained there have been accused or convicted of terrorism.-Insurrection:...
of 21 February 1995, 109 deaths - Beni-Messous massacreBeni-Messous massacreThe Beni-Messous massacre took place on the night of September 5, 1997, in Sidi Youssef, an outlying neighborhood of the town of Beni-Messous. At least 87 people were killed.-Background:...
of 5-6 September 1997, 87/151 deaths - Bentalha massacreBentalha massacreAt the village of Bentalha , about 15 km south of Algiers, on the night of September 22-23, 1997, more than 200 villagers were killed by armed guerrillas...
of 22 September 1997, 202/300 deaths
Wilaya of Ain-Defla
- Ain-Defla massacre of March 1994, 80 deaths
- Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacreOued El-Had and Mezouara massacreThe Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacre took place on 3 August 1997 in two villages near Arib in the wilaya of Ain Defla, Algeria. Guerrillas killed 40-76 civilians. Algeria-Watch's timeline describes them as strange guerrillas with shaven heads and eyebrows, carrying flags emblazoned "Angry at...
of 3 August 1997, 76 deaths
Wilayas of BouiraBouiraBouïra is the capital of Bouïra Province, Algeria.-Demographics:It has 75,086 inhabitants as of the 1998 census, which gives it 15 seats in the PMA.-Geography:...
and BlidaBlidaBlida is a city in Algeria. It is the capital of Blida Province, and it is located about 45 km south-west of Algiers, the national capital. The name Blida, i.e...
- Blida massacre of March 1994, 82 deaths
- Haouch Khemisti massacreHaouch Khemisti massacreThe Haouch Khemisti massacre took place before dawn on 22 April 1997 in the Algerian village of Haouch Mokhfi Khemisti , some 25 km south of Algiers near Bougara. 93 villagers were killed in 3 hours...
of 21 April 1997, 93/113 deaths - Si-Zerrouk massacreSi-Zerrouk massacreThe Si Zerrouk massacre took place in the Si Zerrouk neighborhood in the south of Larbaa in Algeria on 27 July 1997. About 50 people were killed....
of 27 July 1997, 51 deaths - Souhane massacreSouhane massacreThe largest of the Souhane massacres took place in the small mountain town of Souhane on the 20-21 August 1997. 64 people were killed, and 15 women kidnapped; the resulting terror provoked a mass exodus, bringing the town's population down from 4000 before the massacre to just 103 in 2002...
of 20 August-21 August 1997, 63 deaths - Beni-Ali massacreBeni-Ali massacreThe Beni Ali massacre took place in the mountain hamlet of Beni Ali, 40 miles south of Algiers near Chrea, on 26 August 1997. 64 or 100 people were killed. Just three days later came the even larger Rais massacre...
of 26 August 1997, 64 deaths - Rais massacreRais massacreThe Rais massacre, of August 29, 1997, was one of Algeria's bloodiest massacres of the 1990s. It took place at the village of Rais, near Larbaa and south of Algiers. The initial official death toll was 98 people killed and 120 wounded; CNN said that hospital workers and witnesses gave a toll of...
of 29 August 1997, 100-400 deaths - Sidi-Hamed massacreSidi-Hamed massacreThe Sidi-Hamed massacre took place on the night of January 11, 1998 , in the town of Sidi-Hamed , 30 km south of Algiers...
of 11 January 1998, 120-400 deaths
Wilaya of ChlefChlefChlef is the capital of Chlef Province, Algeria. It is home to the soccer club ASO Chlef, the Hassiba Ben Bouali university, and the basilica of Saint Reparatus, which is home to the oldest Christian labyrinth in the world....
- Alleged Tenes massacreTenes massacreAccording to the self-styled "Algerian Committee of Free Activists for Human Dignity and the Rights of Man", which says its claims are based on witnesses' testimony, 173 corpses were found in the forest of El Marsa near Ténès on May 4, 1994 of people kidnapped by the security services and/or the...
of 4 May 1994, 173 deaths (not independently verified) - Tadjena massacreTadjena massacreThe Tadjena massacre was an incident resulting in 81 deaths. Beginning about 9:00 p.m. on December 8 and continuing until early December 9, 1998, 81 villagers were killed by armed groups in the mountain villages of Bouhamed and Ayachiche just north of Tadjena, some west of Algiers, in the Chlef...
of 8 December 1998, 81 deaths
Wilaya of MedeaMedeaMedea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children, Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of...
- Berrouaghia prison massacreBerrouaghia prison massacreThe Berrouaghia prison massacre is alleged to have taken place on 14 November 1994, after an escape attempt at Algeria's Berrouaghia prison. Estimates of the death toll vary wildly. The government gave the figure of eight dead, while others placed the death toll at 30 or higher, and El Watan...
of 14 November 1994, 8-200 deaths - Thalit massacreThalit massacreThe Thalit massacre took place in Thalit village , some 70 km from Algiers, on April 3–4, 1997. 52 out of the 53 inhabitants were killed by slitting their throats. The homes of the villagers were burned down after. The attack was blamed on Islamist guerrillas.-See also:* List of massacres in...
of 3 April-4 April 1997, 52 deaths - (Omaria massacreOmaria massacreThe largest Omaria massacre took place on 23 April 1997 in the Algerian village of Omaria near Médéa, south of Algiers. Attackers armed with knives, sabers, and guns killed 42 people - including 17 women and 3 babies - in 3 hours, mutilating and sometimes burning the bodies. A pregnant women was...
of 23 April 1997, 43 deaths) - (Chouardia massacre of 26 March 1998, 40 deaths)
- Guelb El-Kebir massacreGuelb El-Kebir massacreThe Guelb El-Kebir massacre took place in a small town near Beni Slimane The Guelb El-Kebir massacre took place in a small town near Beni Slimane The Guelb El-Kebir massacre took place in a small town near Beni Slimane (Medea, Algeria; see on the night of the 19 and 20 September of 1997. 53 people...
, 19 September 1997, 53 deaths
Wilaya of RelizaneRelizaneRelizane is a capital town of Relizane Province, Algeria....
- Wilaya of Relizane massacres, of 30 December 1997, 78-412
- Khrouba massacre, 176 deaths
- Sahnoun massacre, 113 deaths
- El-Abadel massacre, 73 deaths
- Ouled-Tayeb massacre, 50 deaths
- Wilaya of Relizane massacres of 4 January 1998, ~1000 deaths
- Remka massacre, 117 deaths
Wilayas of Tiaret and TissemsiltTissemsiltTissemsilt is a municipality in Algeria. It is the capital of Tissemsilt Province and Tissemsilt District....
- Sid El-Antri massacreSid El-Antri massacreThe Sid El-Antri massacre took place on the night of 23-24 December 1997 in two small villages near Tiaret, Algeria. The death toll is unclear; Reuters cites "at least 80", or 48 according to the government, Le Jeune Independent says 117 people were killed and 11 abducted by terrorists, and a...
of 23 December-24 December 1997, 53-117 deaths
Other wilayas
- Oued Bouaicha massacreOued Bouaicha massacreThe Oued Bouaïcha massacre took place about 150 miles south of Algiers, near Djelfa, on March 26, 1998. 52 people, including 32 children under the age of two, were killed at Oued Bouaïcha in the municipality of Bouiret Lahdab; near Had Sahary) by about fifteen men carrying axes and knives, who...
of 26 March 1998, 52 deaths, W. of DjelfaDjelfaDjelfa is the capital city of Djelfa province, Algeria. It has a population of 154,265 . The city lies at the junction of the N1 and the N46.... - Beni Ounif massacreBeni Ounif massacreBéni Ounif is a municipality in Béchar Province, Algeria, coextensive with the district of Béni Ounif. It is located 8 kilometers of Figuig, Morocco, which is inaccessible as the border between the two countries is closed...
of 15 August 1999, 29 people
See also
- Algerian Civil WarAlgerian Civil WarThe Algerian Civil War was an armed conflict between the Algerian government and various Islamist rebel groups which began in 1991. It is estimated to have cost between 150,000 and 200,000 lives, in a population of about 25,010,000 in 1990 and 31,193,917 in 2000.More than 70 journalists were...
- Timeline of the Algerian Civil WarTimeline of the Algerian Civil WarThe Algerian Civil War was a conflict in Algeria, starting in 1991 and continuing to a diminished extent up to the present.-1991:* November 27 - Two Islamists who had fought in Afghanistan, Aïssa Messaoudi and Abderrahmane Dahane, attack a border post at Guemmar, killing soldiers and foreshadowing...
- Human rights in AlgeriaHuman rights in AlgeriaSome human rights in Algeria have been suspended under the long-lasting state of emergency, which was first imposed in 1992. In response to the 2010–2011 Algerian protests, the state of emergency was lifted by the end of February 2011, but the possible effect this will have on human rights remains...
Sources
- "An Anatomy of the Massacres", Ait-Larbi, Ait-Belkacem, Belaid, Nait-Redjam, and Soltani, in An Inquiry into the Algerian Massacres, ed. Bedjaoui, ArouaAbbas ArouaDr. Abbas Aroua is an Algerian medical physicist and activist.He obtained his PhD from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in 1991. He is currently privat docent at the Lausanne Faculty of Medicine in Switzerland, and head of Aroua Health & Education....
, and Ait-Larbi, Hoggar: Geneva 1999.
External links
- Chronologie des massacres en Algerie
- Algeria in the grip of terror - an effort to understand the background of the massacres