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 In one of the world's bloodiest undeclared wars, days of bomb attacks have brought Algeria's Muslim fundamentalist conflict back to the heart of Algiers, the Algerian capital. Two more bombs ripped through the center of Algeria's most important military town, Blida, 30 miles to the south. "The blasts have shattered the perception that the cities are safer, after the massacres in the villages at the start of (the Muslim fasting month) Ramadan," said one European political analyst. "And the violence will certainly continue." A Canadian diplomatic source said the embassy was recommending that Ottawa tell anyone who did not have an urgent reason to visit Algeria to stay away, especially for the next two months.
Ramadan began on the tenth of January. At least 300 people have since died, Algerian newspapers say. "The violence was expected during Ramadan, as in previous years. What makes this year different is thesheer intensity, bloodiness, and certainty it will continue," the analyst said. Massacres in isolated villages marked the start of the month. Then bombs hit Algiers and Blida.
Algeria's radical Armed Islamic Group (GIA) had promised to intensify what it has termed its "holy war" during Ramadan, threatening a 50-bomb campaign. In addition to bombs which have killed and wounded, at least 17 more have been defused in the past three weeks. GIA leader Antar Zouabri, in a statement displayed in Algiers, vowed, "We have the means and the men to punish all those who are not on our side."
Diplomats see the statement as the only explanation for bombs in markets and poor districts normally home to the jobless young, many with fundamentalist leanings. In January, the independent Algerian paper El Watan said of what it termed "murderous madness: "There is no explanation (for this), from citizens or from experts on the motivation or logic of war." It has been five years since the authorities scrapped a general election which Islamists were poised to win. Violence erupted and about 60,000 people have died. Women, children,and foreigners, all have been sucked into the whirlpool of bloodshed.
The government, through Interior Minister Mustapha Ben Mansour, told an already wary population to increase vigilance, admitting "it is difficult to ward off bomb attacks." He was not quoted any longer as mentioning the long-stated government claims that only "residual terrorism" now remains.
Diplomats say the violence has eroded political support for the Islamic fundamentalists which had produced rallies of over 100,000 supporters for the now banned Islamic Salvation Front and massive protests. The likelihood of mass unrest has diminished. "The way things are going right now, they (the authorities) are good for another five years. But so is the opposition. There is evidence they are being supported from outside, by Afghan rebels and others," one diplomat said, without elaborating.
Police in Germany and France searched for Islamic militants suspected of acquiring explosives for the GIA. Algiers also has accused Iran and Sudan of supporting Muslim radicals. Diplomatic sources in Algiers say the latest bloodshed, in what one called "the madness of Algeria," could only produce more violence - a military-security crackdown, and a response from the armed groups. |
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