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 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 gove ...

(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. 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 A wilayah ( ar, وَلاية, wālāya or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu and fa, ولایت, ''velâyat''; tr, vilayet) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes fr ...
of Algiers

* Serkadji prison mutiny of 21 February 1995, 109 deaths *

Beni-Messous massacre The Beni Messous massacre took place on the night of September 5, 1997, in Sidi Youssef, an outlying neighborhood of the town of Beni Messous. At least 84 people were killed. Background In 1997, Algeria was at the peak of a brutal civil confli ...

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 of 3 August 1997, 76 deaths

Wilaya of Batna

* 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 diminutive ...

, 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 of 11 January 1998, 120-400 deaths

Wilaya of
Chlef Chlef ( ar, الشلف, Berber: Clef) is the capital of Chlef Province, Algeria. Located in the north of Algeria, west of the capital, Algiers, it was founded in 1843, as Orléansville, on the ruins of Roman ''Castellum Tingitanum''. In 1962, i ...

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

Wilaya of
Médéa Médéa ( ber, Lemdiyyet, ar, المدية ''al-Madiya''), population 123,535 (1998 census) is the capital city of Médéa Province, Algeria. It is located roughly 68 km south of Algiers. The present-day city is situated on the site o ...

* Berrouaghia prison massacre 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 mil ...

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 of 12 October 1997, 43-50 deaths

Wilaya of
Relizane Relizane or Ghilizan (Arabic: غلیزان; Berber: Ɣilizan) is a city in Algeria. It is the capital city of Relizane Province. Toponymy The name of Relizane comes from the Berber ⵉⵖⵉⵍ ⵉⵣⵣⴰⵏ (Iɣil Izzan) which means “burn ...

* 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, ~1000 deaths ** Remka massacre, 117 deaths

Wilaya of Saïda

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

Wilayas of
Tiaret Tiaret ( ar, تاهرت / تيارت; Berber: Tahert or Tihert, i.e. "Lioness") is a major city in northwestern Algeria that gives its name to the wider farming region of Tiaret Province. Both the town and region lie south-west of the capital o ...
and Tissemsilt

Sid El-Antri massacre The Sid El-Antri massacre took place on the night of 23–24 December 1997 in two small villages near Tiaret, Algeria. The death toll is unclear; Reuters cites "at least 80", or 48 according to the government. ''Le Jeune Independent'' reported 11 ...

of 23–24 December 1997, 53-117 deaths

Other wilayas

* Oued Bouaicha massacre of 26 March 1998, 52 deaths, W. of

Djelfa Djelfa ( ar, الجلفة, link=no, al-Ǧilfah) is the capital city of Djelfa Province, Algeria and the site of ancient city and former bishopric Fallaba, which remains a Latin catholic titular see. It has a population of 490,248 (2018 census). T ...

* 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

Wilaya A wilayah ( ar, وَلاية, wālāya or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu and fa, ولایت, ''velâyat''; tr, vilayet) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", "province" or occasionally as "governorate". The word comes fr ... of Algiers