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
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
. An estimated fifty gunmen participated, attacking children and adults; they bombed a cafe where films were being watched and a mosque in nearby
Haouche Sahraoui, killing those who fled, and entered houses to kill those within. According to official figures, 103 were killed and seventy injured, including two pro-government fighters and five of the attackers. Other sources indicate a higher toll; AFP supposedly counted over 120 corpses, and some Algerian newspapers claimed 400. Thirty girls were reportedly kidnapped. The
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 ...
was generally blamed on the
Armed Islamic Group of Algeria
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). One newspaper claimed that survivors blamed it on the
Islamic Salvation Front
The Islamic Salvation Front ( ar, الجبهة الإسلامية للإنقاذ, al-Jabhah al-Islāmiyah lil-Inqādh; french: Front Islamique du Salut, FIS) was an Islamist political party in Algeria. The party had two major leaders representi ...
(AIS).
See also
*
List of Algerian massacres of the 1990s
Many massacres were committed during the Algerian Civil War that began in 1991. The Armed Islamic Group (GIA) claimed responsibility for many of them, while for others no group has claimed responsibility. In addition to generating a widespread se ...
External links
Algerian media report more killings BBC, 12 January 1998
New massacre reported in Algeria BBC, 12 January 1998
1998: 100 die in massacre in Algeria BBC, 11 January 1998
Sidi Hamed : les intégristes tuent plus de cent civils Web de l'Humanite, 13 January 1998 (''french'')
Turkish Daily News
Sidi Hamed : les rescapés accusent l’AIS Web de l'Humanite, 14 January 1998 (''french'')
Algerian massacres of the 1990s
1998 in Algeria
Massacres in 1998
Conflicts in 1998
January 1998 events in Africa
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