| Violence seems to hit most Muslim countries ahead of votes, doesn't it? |
 Seven Algerian soldiers and four civilians have been killed in attacks in eastern Algeria as voters prepare for a referendum. The latest outbreak of violence is part of a 13-year-long battle in this North African country, where voters are to take part in a referendum on Thursday on a presidential peace plan that would wipe the legal slate clean for many groups.
| On the other hand, there's certainly no shortage of violence when there's no vote in the immediate offing... |
The Algerian daily Liberte reported that suspected members of the Salafist group, in the town of Selma about 250km east of Algiers, had attacked a military patrol charged with protecting electricity workers who were putting up a power line on Thursday. A homemade roadside bomb was detonated, immobilising a military vehicle. The attackers then opened fire, killing seven soldiers and two workers, the report said. Four other soldiers were injured. The same day, two people were killed near the town of Tamalous, about 450km east of the capital, at a roadblock set up by an armed group of about 30 people, Liberte said.
| In fact, I think it's only in the countries ruled by iron-fisted dictators that everything's peaceful and quiet, except when the gummint rounds up a few hundred and bumps them off... |
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