Many

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

s were committed during the

Algerian Civil War The Algerian Civil War ( ar, rtl=yes, الْحَرْبُ الْأَهْلِيَّةُ الجَزَائِرِيَّةُ, al-Ḥarb al-ʾAhlīyah al-Jazāʾirīyah) was a civil war in Algeria fought between the Algerian government and various I ...

that began in 1991. The

Armed Islamic Group The Armed Islamic Group (GIA, from french: Groupe Islamique Armé; ar, الجماعة الإسلامية المسلّحة, al-Jamāʿa l-ʾIslāmiyya l-Musallaḥa) was one of the two main Islamist insurgent groups that fought the Algerian gov ...

(GIA) claimed responsibility for many of them, while for others no group has claimed responsibility. In addition to generating a widespread sense of fear, the massacres effected migration from and depopulation of the worst-affected areas. The number of massacres peaked in 1997, with a smaller peak in 1994, and they were particularly concentrated in the areas between Algiers and Oran, with very few occurring in the east or in the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

. This list is not exhaustive and covers only events in which over 50 civilians or prisoners were killed; with the number of smaller massacres being far more numerous. Sources frequently disagree on the number of deaths.

Wilaya of Algiers

* Serkadji prison mutiny of 21 February 1995, 109 deaths * Beni-Messous massacre of 5–6 September 1997, 87-151 deaths * Bentalha massacre of 22 September 1997, 202-300 deaths

Wilaya of Ain-Defla

* Ain-Defla massacre of March 1994, 80 deaths *

Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacre The 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 ...

of 3 August 1997, 76 deaths

Wilaya of
Batna Batna or BATNA may refer to: Batna (city), Algeria Batna Province, Algeria *Best alternative to a negotiated agreement In negotiation theory, the best alternative to a negotiated agreement or BATNA (no deal option) refers to the most advantageou ...

* Batna-Msila Road massacre of 17 August 1996, 63 deaths

Wilayas of Bouira and
Blida Blida ( ar, البليدة; Tamazight: Leblida) 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. ''bulaydah'', is a diminutive ...

Blida massacre of March 1994 Blida ( ar, البليدة; Tamazight: Leblida) 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. ''bulaydah'', is a diminuti ...

, 82 deaths * Haouch Khemisti massacre of 21 April 1997, 93-113 deaths * Si-Zerrouk massacre of 27 July 1997, 51 deaths * Souhane massacre of 20–21 August 1997, 63 deaths * Beni-Ali massacre of 26 August 1997, 64 deaths * Rais massacre of 29 August 1997, 100-400 deaths *

Sidi-Hamed massacre The Sidi-Hamed massacre took place on the night of January 11, 1998 (the last day of Ramadan), in the town of Sidi-Hamed (or Sidi-Hammad), 30 km south of Algiers. An estimated fifty gunmen participated, attacking children and adults; th ...

of 11 January 1998, 120-400 deaths

Wilaya of Chlef

* Alleged Tenes massacre of 4 May 1994, 173 deaths (not independently verified) * Tadjena massacre of 8 December 1998, 81 deaths

Wilaya of Médéa

Berrouaghia prison massacre The 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 plac ...

of 14 November 1994, 8-200 deaths * Thalit massacre of 3–4 April 1997, 52 deaths * Omaria massacre of 23 April 1997, 43 deaths *

Chouardia massacre The Chouardia massacre took place on 27 April 1997 in the village of Chouardia, Algeria. An armed group stormed the town and killed over 40 villagers in an attack overnight, in the village of Chouardia in the mountainous Médéa region, 60 mile ...

of 27 April 1998, over 40 deaths * Guelb El-Kebir massacre, 19 September 1997, 53 deaths

Wilaya of M'Sila

* Dairat Labguer massacre of 16 June 1997, 50 deaths

Wilaya of Oran

Sidi Daoud massacre The Sidi Daoud massacre took place outside the village of Sidi Daoud near Sig in western Algeria on the night of 12 October 1997. 43 people were killed at a fake roadblock. See also *List of massacres in Algeria A ''list'' is any set of item ...

of 12 October 1997, 43-50 deaths

Wilaya of Relizane

* 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 The Wilaya of Relizane massacres of 4 January 1998 took place in three remote villages around Oued Rhiou about 150 miles (240 km) west of Algiers, during the Algerian conflict of the 1990s. At least 172 villagers were killed in a single da ...

, ~1000 deaths ** Remka massacre, 117 deaths

Wilaya of Saïda

* Baloul massacre of 2 September 1998, 40-60 deaths

Wilayas of Tiaret and
Tissemsilt Tissemsilt ( ar, تسمسيلت, Tissamsīlt) is a municipality in Algeria. It is the capital of Tissemsilt Province and Tissemsilt District Tissemsilt is a district in Tissemsilt Province, Algeria. It was named after its capital, Tissemsilt, ...

* Sid El-Antri massacre of 23–24 December 1997, 53-117 deaths

Other wilayas

* Oued Bouaicha massacre of 26 March 1998, 52 deaths, W. of Djelfa * Beni Ounif massacre of 15 August 1999, 29 people

References

Sources

* "An Anatomy of the Massacres", Ait-Larbi, Ait-Belkacem, Belaid, Nait-Redjam, and Soltani, in ''An Inquiry into the Algerian Massacres'', ed. Bedjaoui, Aroua, 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 {{Massacres Massacres of the 1990s Algerian Civil War

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...