News from Algeria 2008

[Al-khiyal]

Inondations :
d’importants renforts dépêchés à Ghardaia

Jeudi 2 Octobre 2008 -- Les conditions météorologiques se sont améliorées jeudi à Ghardaia, où des mesures sanitaires ont été prises afin d'éviter des épidémies après des inondations qui ont fait au moins 29 morts, a-t-on appris de source officielle. Plus de 200 membres de la protection civile algériennes et 18 équipes médicales ont été notamment dépêchés à Ghardaia et des mesures sanitaires ont été prises pour éviter tout risque d'épidémies en raison des crues et d'une éventuelle pollution des eaux potables, a indiqué le ministre de l'Intérieur, Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni.

Ces inondations ont fait 29 morts, un disparu et 48 blessés, selon un bilan officiel provisoire. Des centaines de maisons ont été inondées. Des membres de la protection civile, munis de canots pneumatiques et des équipes médicales, venues des départements voisins, renforcent le dispositif mis en place par une cellule de crise, a précisé le ministre au cours d'un conseil interministériel présidé par le chef du gouvernement Ahmed Ouyahia, indique un communiqué officiel cité par l'agence APS.

Les conditions météorologiques s'amélioraient dans la région, frappée par trois jours de pluie depuis lundi et l'alimentation en gaz et électricité était progressivement rétablie, a-t-on précisé de même source. Des groupes électrogènes ont été distribués et des premiers secours prodigués. Des mesures ont également été prises concernant l'hébergement temporaire des familles sinistrées et l'approvisionnement de la population, indique également le communiqué. L'armée a aussi mis des moyens aériens à la disposition des sauveteurs pour le transport de matériel, selon la même source.

[Al-khiyal]

Nearly 30 dead, dozens injured in Algeria floods: ministry

ALGIERS, October 2, 2008 (AFP) — Flash floods following torrential rain south of Algiers have killed at least 29 people, injured 48 and left one person missing, the interior ministry said Thursday, warning of higher casualties.

Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni described them as the worst floods in a century.

"Based on the overflight that we made, the toll unfortunately could be greater," Zerhouni told reporters, after meeting local authorities in the sodden Ghardaia region.

Rain has been falling since Monday in the region, which lies about 500 kilometres (300 miles) south of Algiers.

The government previously said 13 people had been killed in the floods, which have damaged at least 600 homes, many of them in oasis areas.

A local resident reached by telephone by AFP suggested the toll could indeed be higher in the central Algerian region following the first rainfall in four years.

"The population even talks of about a hundred victims and up to one thousand houses flooded," he said.

The rainfall, which had started Monday continued into Tuesday but "not very hard," he said. "Wednesday it was a deluge," he added.

The wadis, or seasonal rivers, had filled up and spilled into the larger M'zab wadi river, which then flooded, sweeping away everything in its path.

The flooding has cut off roads and rendered telephone connections erratic.

"The bakeries are shut, there is neither gas nor electricity, the shops are flooded and their stocks are probably unusable," Zerhouni said, adding the government's priority was to aid the affected population.

Ministers were to meet Thursday to assess the damage and the population's needs, the minister said.

Several areas in Algeria were lashed by heavy rain over two days including Djelfa - midway between Ghardaia and Algiers - where two people died.

Algeria is no stranger to bad weather, particularly in the north. Flooding in the Algiers region in 2001 killed more than 800 people and caused considerable damage.

[Al-khiyal]

9 suspects on trial for alleged Paris bomb plot

PARIS, October 2, 2008 -- Nine suspects went on trial in Paris Thursday, accused of setting up a militant Islamic network that plotted to carry out bomb attacks in Paris.

The Algerian-born leader of the group, Safe Bourada, has already served a 10-year sentence for a wave of bombings on the Paris metro in 1995 claimed by the Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA).

French prosecutors say Bourada, now 38, founded the Ansar al-Fath (Upholders of Islam) group following his release from prison in 2003 and sought to finance his network through activities including prostitution.

The nine men were arrested in 2005 during a police sweep on towns in the Paris region and charged with membership of a terrorist group.

Much of the evidence against the nine defendants was gathered from statements made by M'Hamed Benyamina, who took over the network after Bourada left for Egypt in 2005.

Arrested in Algeria in September 2005, Benyamina allegedly told Algerian security agents his group was plotting to bomb the Paris metro, Paris-Orly airport and the headquarters of the DST intelligence agency.

Defence lawyers have strongly denied the allegations.

Bourada has described himself as a fundamentalist but maintains he is opposed to violence.

His lawyer Salah Djemai said the prosecution's case rests solely on Benyamina's testimony which he claims was obtained under duress.

Most of the defendants - Kais Melliti, Kaci Ouarab, Yassine Ferchichi, Djamel Badaoui, Samir Bouhalli, Achour Ouarab, Stephane Hadoux and Emmanuel Nieto - come from the town of Trappes, west of Paris.

Investigators say Kaci Ouarab underwent explosives and military training in Lebanon and other members of the group were to follow suit.

Hearings are set to continue until October 10.

[Al-khiyal]

Man accused of defrauding Allstate of $400,000 nabbed in Georgia

Georgia, October 2, 2008 -- Federal authorities have arrested an Algerian national wanted for defrauding Allstate Insurance Co. of more than $400,000 by faking his own death nearly eight years ago.

Abdelhamid Sedrati, 56, of Albany, Georgia, was arrested last week without incident by FBI agents in Atlanta, according to a release from the FBI. Sedrati has been the subject of an international manhunt coordinated by the Chicago FBI since December 2000, when he was charged by a federal grand jury in Chicago with one count of mail fraud.

Sedrati and his sister, Yamina Sedrati, are accused of conspiring to defraud Northbrook-based Allstate Life of more than $400,000 by staging his death and collecting on the insurance policy.

In 1991, Abdelhamid Sedrati purchased a policy from Allstate, naming his sister as beneficiary, the release said. The application allegedly contained several false statements, including his annual income, net worth and the existence of other life insurance policies, the indictment said.

The indictment claims Abdelhamid Sedrati traveled to his native Algeria, where he faked his death in October 1994. Yamina Sedrati then filed a death benefit claim with Allstate, including submission of a false death certificate. The company paid her $426,105 in January 1996.

Abdelhamid Sedrati was arrested by the FBI while using an assumed name to return to the United States for unknown reasons. The suspicions of U.S. Customs Inspectors were first raised when he arrived at Hartsfield International Airport. He appeared in U.S. District Court in Atlanta following his arrest, at which time he was ordered held without bond, pending return to Chicago. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

His sister has also been charged but remains a fugitive, the release said.

[Al-khiyal]

Death toll from floods in southern Algeria rises to 30 dead, 50 wounded

ALGERIA, October 2, 2008 (KUNA) - Algerian authorities announced Thursday the high death toll from floods that swept through the province of Ghardaia (650 km south of Algiers) to be 30 dead and 50 wounded, including two in critical condition. The governor of the province said in a press conference today that eight districts out of 13 in the province have been damaged by heavy rains that have not stopped pouring since last Tuesday, noting that serious damage has occurred to more than 600 houses in the region. The Algerian authorities have hastened to send 400 tons of food and 200,000 blankets and more than a thousand tents, generators and a makeshift water-treatment plant for the production of potable water. The Algerian army has intervened to rescue flood victims and search for the missing as a result of the disaster. Civil defense units have also participated in rescue operations. The Algerian government has held an emergency meeting chaired by Prime Minister Ahmad Ouyahia to discuss the situation and decided to name the Ghardaia region a "disaster area" and to put in place a plan to ensure the safety of all families and their properties.

[Al-khiyal]

Algeria floods toll rises to 31

October 3, 2008 -- The death toll in flash floods in a historic Algerian town climbed to 31 Friday, as aid workers battled to help hundreds of homeless and the army was deployed to prevent looting, state radio said.

Fifty people were injured and about 1,000 were homeless around Ghardaia, a UN World Heritage site at the entrance to the Algerian desert, some 600 kilometres (375 miles) south of Algiers in the M'Zab Valley, state radio said.

Hundreds of civilian volunteers, Red Crescent officials and Muslim scouts worked round-the-clock to help those living rough. The water was eight metres (26 feet high) in some parts of the town of Ghardaia, the report said.

Basic aid and food was arriving from nearby towns in trucks, the radio said.

Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni said the floods are the worst for a century.

Gas and electricity supplies have been partially revived, but there was an acute shortage of basic goods and medicines - most of which had been damaged due to the flooding.

The interior ministry sent tents, generators and 400 tonnes of first aid to the region. The army is being deployed in the area to prevent looting.

The government previously said 13 people had been killed in the floods, which have damaged some 600 homes, many of them in oasis areas.

A resident reached by telephone by AFP suggested the toll could be higher in the region following the first rainfall in four years.

"The population even talks of about 100 victims and up to 1,000 houses flooded," he said, while adding that the rainfall, which started Monday and had become "a deluge" by Wednesday.

The resident said seasonal rivers had filled up and spilled into a larger one, which then flooded, sweeping away everything in its path.

"Authorities spoke of a flow of 900 cubic metres (32,000 cubic feet) per second," he added.

Several areas in Algeria were lashed by heavy rain including Djelfa - midway between Ghardaia and Algiers - where two people died.

Flooding in the Algiers region in 2001 killed more than 800 people and caused considerable damage.

[Al-khiyal]

Les inondations qui ont ravagé mercredi la région de Ghardaia ont fait 31 morts et 50 blessés,
selon un nouveau bilan établi vendredi matin, a indiqué la radio nationale

Vendredi 3 Octobre 2008 -- Les inondations qui ont ravagé mercredi la région de Ghardaia ont fait 31 morts et 50 blessés, selon un nouveau bilan établi vendredi matin, a indiqué la radio nationale. Un prédécent bilan faisait état jeudi soir de 30 morts. La ville de Ghardaia, dont presque tous les quartiers ont été inondés, a été la plus touchée par ces inondations qui ont frappé cette région considérée comme la porte du désert et qui ont également fait un millier de sinistrés, a ajouté la radio.