Algeria hit by surge in guerrilla violence

[Al-khiyal]

Sofia, 12 April 2007 -- Bulgarian National Assembly Chairman Georgi Pirinski sent a letter of condolence to Amar Saadani, Speaker of the Algerian National People’s Assembly, in regard to the Algeria terrorist attacks that killed dozens and injured hundreds of innocent people, the press office of the National Assembly announced.

“We categorically denounce the bloody terrorist attacks that assault democracy and contemporary civilization. The bombings show that the international democratic community should even more decisively unite its efforts in combating terrorism because there is no justification for such violence,” Pirinski writes.

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov sent a letter of condolence as well, the President’s Office announced.

“We flatly condemn these brutal and abominable terrorist attacks and reiterate our stand supporting the international community’s efforts for uprooting terrorism which cannot be justified by any political, religious or other reasons,” President Parvanov’s letter reads.

Bulgarian President and National Assembly Chairman denounce Algeria bombing

[Al-khiyal]

Algerian authorities on Thursday vowed a tough response to two suicide bombings that killed at least 33 people and fuelled fears of a resurgent Al-Qaeda front in North Africa.

Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem said President Abdelaziz Bouteflika had chaired a crisis cabinet meeting and "ordered a series of measures to end these criminal acts, and get these criminals out of a position where they can do harm."

Belkhadem also stressed that national elections scheduled for May 17 would go ahead.

"Those who resort to violence exclude themselves from the political process and elections form part of that political process," Belkhadem told Al-Arabiyatelevision.

However, he did not give details of the measures ordered at the cabinet meeting late Wednesday.

The bombings, which followed suicide blasts in neighbouring Morocco, were claimed by Al-Qaeda's branch in North Africa, which published photographs of what it said were the three bombers on the Internet.

Its statement on an Islamist website often used by the Al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden said the explosions killed at least 53 people.

Interior Minister Noureddine Zerhouni put the official death toll at 33 after he visited victims in hospital. Of the more than 220 people injured in the explosions, Zerhouni said 57 remained hospitalised, some in a serious condition.

Algerian newspapers compared the bombings to the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States and the Madrid train bombings in 2004.

"New York had September 11, Madrid had March 11 and it was Algeria's turn on April 11 to witness the murderous madness of the suicide bombers," said the French-language daily, Le Jeune Independant.

Terrorism experts warned that the attacks might signal a wider resurgence of Islamist militancy in the region that could spread to Tunisia, Libya and further south to the Sahel - an arid strip along the southern Sahara that stretches across six countries from Senegal to Chad.

"We now have a belt which extends from Morocco to Somalia," said Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism specialist at the Swedish National Defence College.

"The key question is: are they going to internationalise that even further, with action in France for example ... or actions in Spain by Moroccans?" Ranstorp said.

The first of Wednesday's car bomb attacks ripped the facade of the building housing the prime minister's office in central Algiers. Minutes later, bombers driving two cars triggered explosions in the eastern suburb of Bab Ezzouar, on the road to the international airport.

Zerhouni did not provide a breakdown of how many died in each incident

Muslim countries on Thursday echoed other world leaders in condemning what the Iranian foreign ministry described as an "inhuman and ugly act," with Jordan's King Abdullah II denouncing "cowardly acts that have nothing to do with Islam and Islamic ethics".

For the residents of Algiers, like Amria Abdelmoun, an official at a state-run company, the explosions were a terrifying reminder of the "black years of terrorism" in the 1990s when he would leave his home every morning wondering whether he would make it back.

"We were promised that they (the Islamists) would never return and that we had witnessed the death throes of these fanatics," he said.

At least 33 people, including about 15 Algerian security officers, have been killed in clashes with Islamist militants since the beginning of April.

In February 2006, the government offered an amnesty to any Islamists who surrendered.

In its statement claiming responsibility, the Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb, said it sought to liberate, "all the land of Islam," including Andalusia in southern Spain and Jerusalem...

Algerian authorities vow tough response to bombings

[Al-khiyal]

ALGIERS - Extra police and paramilitary forces will patrol the streets of Algerian cities after two Al-Qaeda suicide bomb attacks that killed at least 33 people, Interior Minister Nouredine Zerhouni said Thursday.

"The group that carried out these attacks is isolated and its membership has been reduced," Zerhouni told reporters during a tour of hospitals where victims of Wednesday's attacks were taken.

The minister said security precautions in the country were "correct" but added that "the number of gendarmes and police in our cities will be increased."

The minister did not give numbers but said the extra security measures had been agreed at a crisis cabinet meeting held late Wednesday by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

The attacks targetted the government headquarters and a police station on the main road to Algiers airport.

The bombings were claimed by Al-Qaeda's branch in North Africa, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which published photographs of what it said were the three bombers on the Internet.

"Whatever the name of the group, Al-Qaeda or GSPC, it doesn't matter," said the minister.

"The attacks signify that it is one of the last acts of people who do not want the state to function normally."

Zerhouni said the "neutralisation" of Abdelamalek Droukdel, the head of the former GSPC, "who was responsible for this operation may take weeks or years ... and it will depend on our ability to remain vigilant because the Algerian people are used to peace."

The minister said Algeria was "on the right path" to wiping out the extremist groups.

Operations by the army and security services in recent months had "put out of action a few hundred people active in terrorism, who have been killed, imprisoned or have given themselves up," he added.

Extra security forces in Algerian cities after attacks: Zerhouni

[Al-khiyal]

DAMASCUS, (SANA) - The International Federation of Arab Trade Unions on Thursday condemned the terrorist bombings in the Algerian and Moroccan capitals.

The Federation's Secretariat, in a statement, called on Arab, international and regional organizations and governments to denounce those criminal acts, warning against schemes targeting the national unity in Morocco and Algeria.

It urged peace-loving countries to reject such terrorist coward acts and condemn them.

[Al-khiyal]

13 April 2007 -- New Zealanders in London when the Rainbow Warrior was sunk may know something of what Ahmed Zaoui felt after the bombings in Algiers this week, that left over 30 people dead. Suddenly, the television screen carries images of home, but in a truly unsettling light.

Familiar places are in chaos, there is shock on local faces….this week, Algeria seemed to be reliving its national nightmare of the 1990s, in which over 200,000 people are estimated to have died.

Zaoui’s first response was to reach for the phone. “I immediately contacted my family, and my wife told me what she had heard from the news.’ Though thousands of kilometres apart, the couple spent the next few hours watching much the same media coverage of their far-off homeland. Compassion, enhanced by the impotence of distance, rose to the fore. “I am so sorry for the families that have lost their loved ones. I am also sorry for the Algerian people, that they will be fearful about this happening again.’

Responsibility for the Algiers bombing has been claimed by AQIM, aka Al Qaeda in the Maghreb. Until recently this band of Salafist fanatics was better known as the Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). Now down to only a few hundred in number, the Salafists have displaced the now defunct GIA as the main violent irritant to Algeria’s rulers, though hitherto, their efforts had largely been confined to the mountainous Kabylia region.

Does Zaoui support – or oppose - AQIM? “I totally and absolutely oppose this group,” Zaoui says without hesitation. “First, I am not a man of violence, but I preach and advocate for democracy and peace. Second, I constantly talk about the need for a peaceful resolution of the problems in Algeria. Finally, such acts are against the interests of the Algerian people.”

In what way? Partly because, he patiently explains, the extremists provide a rationale for foreign intervention. “Such acts and groups give the opportunity for foreign governments to interfere in Algerian affairs, and I prefer the Algerian government and people to be free and independent in their concerns, decisions and solutions. I wish for the Algerian people and government to look after Algeria, peacefully and democratically, without outside interference.”

So, what message does Zaoui have for groups like AQIM that use violent tactics to bring about political change? “First, the premise of the question is wrong,” Zaoui replies sharply. “Such groups, like AQIM, are not trying to bring about political change.

These people and groups are wanting to go backwards, to create problems and to create chaos. They want our countries to go backwards, like Afghanistan under the Taliban. These people and groups have no reason, no political project, no social project or policies to help the people in the society. [They] focus on religious dogma and are stuck in an irrelevant and backward religious interpretation of Islam [ that] attracts people on the fringes, or edges of society. These people are not part of, or in, the general population. They have no understanding of political life or the modern world. I can only repeat that I preach and advocate peace and democracy, and I condemn this violence.’

Suicide bombers have become a new feature of extremist actions in North Africa, and have struck within the last fortnight in both Morocco and Algeria. In Zaoui’s view, does Islam condone - or condemn - suicide bombings? “I condemn suicide bombings,” he says, “and I think the core of [any] religion does not accept such acts. My interpretation of Islam is that such things cannot be accepted.”

Inevitably, the recent upsurge in violence has rubbed raw some recent wounds. The bombings can only bring back to mind the carnage that Zaoui fled from, first to Europe and eventually to New Zealand – in an attempt to find refuge for himself and his family. Given this week’s events, does he consider it would it be safe for him to return to Algeria?

Zaoui replies with typical frankness : “For now, I will say it is no secret that I wish to return to Algeria as soon as I can. Unfortunately, I do not consider that the conditions mean that my security is safe or guaranteed. For those who can return to Algeria - for example, due to the recent [amnesty] Charter - I encourage, and I have encouraged, friends and others to do so. But unfortunately, I believe I am still at risk, and can be a target in Algeria. “

Zaoui’s misgivings are echoed by Green Party MP Keith Locke : "I think that after the latest terrorist attacks, the situation would be even more volatile for Mr Zaoui.’ Reason being, Locke says, the bombings make things easy for the Algerian administration to justify a crackdown against the extremists and its legitimate mainstream critics alike. "The problem that Mr Zaoui will face is that the security apparatus will consider they have carte blanche to clamp down on democrats like Mr Zaoui, as well as on the real terrorists."

A concern, given that the amnesty itself has already thrown something of a protective cloak over the security forces. The amnesty process has been structured in a way that forbids any investigation of the authorities or any accountability pursued against them for the human rights outrages of the recent past. “I feel real concerns about the recent Algerian amnesty,” Locke says, “because unfortunately, it has been deliberately set up in a way that absolves the security forces of their part in the [ 1990s] atrocities.”

Similarly, Zaoui’s public support for the overall intent of the amnesty - peace and reconciliation – is tempered only by the manifest flaws in its structure. “I do support the Charter, and the proposals for peace and reconciliation. However, I think that they must be based on a truthful account of what happened. Sadly, the way it is has been phrased means that there is still no justice or truthful investigation of the troubles - so there are still problems, and the crisis has not been finished. I share the same concerns as Amnesty International and other international human rights groups, academics and observers in this way… ”

Zaoui on the Algiers bombings

[Al-khiyal]

Senegal on Thursday expressed its "profound indignation" with regard to the terrorist attacks which took place on Morocco and Algeria, according to a statement published by the government.

It's with "great dismay" that Senegal has learnt of the terrorist attacks which took place in Casablanca, Morocco on Tuesday and Algiers, Algeria on Wednesday.

The Senegalese government "condemns these attacks in the strongest terms possible and sends its condolences to the governments and the brotherly people of Algeria and Morocco as well as to the families of the victims."

Perpetrated in a populated area of Casablanca, commercial capital of Morocco, the attack in Morocco was carried out by three suicide bombers, a forth was killed before he could blow himself while a police officer was killed.

In Algeria, the bomb blasts left 33 people dead and more than 220 others injured.

"At this painful moment, Senegalese government expresses its sympathy and solidarity with the governments of Morocco and Algeria and their people," highlights the statement, noting that "Senegal is calling for concerted international efforts in enhancing the fight against international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations."

Senegal strongly condemns terrorist attacks in Algeria, Morocco

[Al-khiyal]

Croatian President Stjepan Mesic sent a letter of condolence to Algeria President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika following the terrorist attacks in the Algerian capital in which more than 20 people were killed and more than 200 injured.

"Following yesterday's cowardly terrorist attacks in the capital of Algeria, I wish, on behalf of the citizens of the Republic of Croatia and myself personally, to send you a note of solidarity," the letter reads.

Croatia condemns with utmost severity the terrorist attacks aimed against the lives of Algerian citizens and against the stability of Algeria, Mesic wrote and added that global terrorism was an evil which the whole world should confront together.

"I am taking the opportunity to reiterate my firm conviction that victory against global terrorism is only possible if all the countries of the world participate in the fight, attuning their efforts to eliminate this evil of our times," Mesic said.

"Croatia remains consistent in its positions on the fight for peace, stability, and safety in global proportions," Mesic adds in the note of condolences to his Algerian colleague Bouteflika.

In the attacks on the Government headquarters and Bab Ezzouar police station on Wednesday, 24 people were killed and 222 injured according to the latest available reports. The Maghreb Al-Qaeda claimed the responsibility for the attacks.

Croatian president sends condolences to Bouteflika