| A reminder that not only is it not about Israel, but sometimes it isn't even about Islam. This one is about the native Berbers vs. the Arab colonizers/conquerors, all of whom are Muslim. But the Berbers caused trouble for the Romans when they were Christian no less than they have caused trouble for the Arabs since they became Muslim. |
| Jugurtha wasn't all that easy to handle for the Romans, either. |
The fighting erupted when Mozabite (Berbers) youth tried to prevent a group of Arabs, or Chaamba, from going to a mosque located in a majority Mozabite neighborhood, the agency said.
Some young people also threw Molotov cocktails and hurled rocks at police who tried to break up the fighting, wounding the two gendarmes.
Police eventually used tear gas against the stone throwers.
The Mozabite and Chaamba communities have lived together for centuries, but tensions have risen sharply since vandals destroyed a historic Berber shrine in December 2013.
Since then there have been off-and-on confrontations that have killed at least 10 people and maimed more than 400.
The two sides have often clashed over property and land ownership.
Ghardaia is located in the M'Zab valley on the edge of the Sahara desert, some 600 kilometres (370 miles) south of Algiers. It is a UNESCO world heritage site renowned for its traditional white-washed houses and bustling market, selling jewelery, carpets and leather.