For a decade Algeria has been embroiled in chaos. No wonder, says Trevor Royle, that so many of its young men are leaving their homeland.
For 10 bloody years, Algeria has been mired in a ferocious civil war that has largely been forgotten by the rest of the world. An average of 10,000 people have been killed each year during that time, the most recent victims being 40 members of the security forces who were ambushed last weekend by Islamic rebels in the war-torn south of the country. Government officials blamed the attack on the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), a breakaway faction of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
The north African country was plunged into chaos in 1992 when the army intervened in the general election to prevent the radical Front for Islamic Salvation (FIS) from gaining power. The party was banned and, in the ensuing confusion, radical Islamic supporters went underground to wage civil war against the government . Islamist fighters launched a ruthless campaign against the government, the military and civilians. Schools were torched, religious leaders assassinated and public buildings bombed. The goal was to overthrow the secular Algerian government and replace it with an Islamist regime.
For 10 bloody years, Algeria has been mired in a ferocious civil war that has largely been forgotten by the rest of the world. An average of 10,000 people have been killed each year during that time, the most recent victims being 40 members of the security forces who were ambushed last weekend by Islamic rebels in the war-torn south of the country. Government officials blamed the attack on the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), a breakaway faction of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
The north African country was plunged into chaos in 1992 when the army intervened in the general election to prevent the radical Front for Islamic Salvation (FIS) from gaining power. The party was banned and, in the ensuing confusion, radical Islamic supporters went underground to wage civil war against the government . Islamist fighters launched a ruthless campaign against the government, the military and civilians. Schools were torched, religious leaders assassinated and public buildings bombed. The goal was to overthrow the secular Algerian government and replace it with an Islamist regime.