Islamic rebel violence is again on the rise in Algeria after a series of daring attacks on the powerful military, raising questions about the government’s drive to bring peace to the strife-torn north African country.
| Guess they're back from Chad, huh? |
Some 20 soldiers, paramilitary and police officials were killed and around 40 injured in ambushes over the past week, most attributed to Algeria’s top rebel group linked to al Qaeda. The army has launched a massive operation to catch the attackers. But no militant is believed to have been captured in the attacks. "The terrorists are doubling in audacity and activity, striking across the national territory and have acquired an incredible assault power," influential independent newspaper El Watan wrote in an editorial on Sunday. "One certitude isn’t escaping citizens: the civil concord (amnesty law) hasn’t at all achieved its objectives," it said. Contrary to the wishes of many of its members, leaders of the al Qaeda-aligned Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) fighting for a purist Islamic state are against any peace move, according to analysts and security experts. "The leaders are trying to stop members from defecting and the attacks suggest they’re putting down their mark and showing they’re a force to be reckoned with," said a Western diplomat.
| But the fact that the attacks dropped off while they were off on their central African adventure suggests the remaining organization isn't all that big... |
But government-critical newspaper Liberte on Sunday attacked the national reconciliation plan as playing into the rebel hands and questioned the government’s silence over recent killings, particularly the ambush which killed 10 soldiers and injured 16. "It’s the hour of great fraternity with the Islamists, reconciliation with the throat slitters and (rebel) surrenders," Liberte mocked. Foreign investment is coming back and many Algerians are focusing on the fruits of a return to a certain normality as is witnessed by new shops, restaurants and night clubs. |