Former Algerian Minister of Defence Indicted in Switzerland on War Crime Charges

THE GUARDIAN: Khaled Nezzar is to be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity during 1991-2002 Algerian civil war

Khaled Nezzar (pictured here in 2016), a former minister of defence in Algeria, is to stand trial in Switzerland. Photograph: Nacerdine Zebar/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Victims of the 1991-2002 Algerian civil war have been given hope that they will finally receive justice after the highly unusual announcement by Swiss authorities that a former Algerian minister of defence is to stand trial in Switzerland on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Khaled Nezzar is set to be the highest-ranking military official ever tried for war crimes under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows states to investigate and prosecute people suspected of having committed international crimes regardless of where they were committed, their nationality, or the nationality of the victims.

Switzerland’s office of the attorney general (OAG) filed an indictment in the federal criminal court against Nezzar on Monday. » | Kate Connolly in Berlin | Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Algeria Wildfires Kill Dozens of People Including 10 Soldiers

THE GUARDIAN: About 7,500 firefighters trying to bring blazes under control and 1,500 people evacuated as heatwave spreads

Thirty-four people including 10 soldiers have been killed by wildfires in the mountainous Béjaïa and Bouïra regions of Algeria, as a heatwave spreads across north Africa and southern Europe.

About 8,000 firefighters were trying to bring the flames under control, authorities said, adding that about 1,500 people had been evacuated.

Algeria’s interior ministry said operations were under way to put out fires in six provinces and asked for people to “avoid areas affected by the fires” and to report new blazes on freephone numbers.

“Civil protection services remain mobilised until the fires are completely extinguished,” the ministry said.

The defence ministry said 10 soldiers were killed in the fires, but provided no further details. » | Agencies in Algiers | Monday, July 24, 2023

People & Power: Algeria: The Revolution That Never Was

Does 'progressive leadership' or something more complex and sinister explain why Algeria's 'Spring' never materialised?

Algerian Village Ousts Salafist Imam

ALL AFRICA: Algiers — Residents of the Tizi Ouzou town of Imzizou just rallied for the removal a controversial salafist imam.

Algerians from several surrounding villages joined in the protest at the Fréha government administration site on Thursday (July 11th), claiming that the imam did not abide by their traditions and was trying to impose salafist practices.

According to local resident Hadj Ibrahim, citizens were outraged because the imam "had refused to conduct the usual and traditional funeral ceremony when a villager died, on the pretext that it was a bida'a (innovation)".

"This imam was already known for his salafist ideology," Ibrahim added. "He tried to impose it on the villagers several times."

The authorities responded quickly to the civil protest. The Ministry of Religious Affairs issued an order for the imam to be transferred elsewhere. But this did not appease the villagers, who said the problem was bigger than just their town.

"We are appalled not by this imam but by salafist ideology, which poses a threat to our society." Imzizou resident Hadj Mansour told Magahrebia.

"What is not good for our village is bad for the whole of Algeria", Mansour said. » | Fidet Mansour | Thursday, July 18, 2013

Canadians in Algeria Attack Went Overseas with 3rd Man
CBC NEWS CANADA: Aaron Yoon was classmate of Katsiroubas, Medlej at London, Ont., high school


A special CBC News investigation has uncovered the identity of a third member of a group of former London, Ont., high school friends now at the centre of a horrifying tale of young Canadians getting mixed up with al-Qaeda and international militants.

CBC News has learned that Aaron Yoon, now about 24, is likely the only survivor among this perverse band of brothers, two of whom died while staging a bloody attack on an Algerian oil refinery three months ago.

International intelligence sources say Yoon, a Canadian of Korean descent, flew to North Africa with three others, but wound up in jail before the al-Qaeda attack in January that killed 37 refinery workers in Algeria.

Two of Yoon’s former London schoolmates, Xris Katsiroubas and Ali Medlej, were among several dozen al-Qaeda-linked militants involved in the attack.

Sources say the two probably blew themselves up at the end of the four-day siege, but only one could be identified through DNA tests. » | Greg Weston, National Affairs Specialist | CBC News | Tuesday, April 02, 2013

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Gaddafi's Daughter Thrown Out of Algeria After She 'Set Fire to Presidential Residence'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The late Muammar Gaddafi’s daughter was thrown out of her Algerian safe-house because she repeatedly set it on fire in fits of anger, officials have revealed.


Aisha Gaddafi, 37, has an arrest warrant against her name after fleeing Libya when her father was deposed and then killed two years ago after 42 years in power.

The western educated lawyer arrived in Algeria with other family members after her husband — an army general — was killed in the bombing raids which destroyed Gaddafi’s regime, leaving her as a single mother.

She was accorded a presidential residence in the south of the country.

Algeria’s ambassador to Libya confirmed last month that Col Gaddafi’s widow and three of his children including Aisha, had left Algeria “a long time ago” without giving further details.

It has now emerged that Algerian authorities lost patience with Miss Gaddafi, a onetime UN Goodwill Ambassador, after she kept vandalising furniture and attacking guards out of rage over her father’s fate.

“She ended up blaming Algeria for many of her problems, and also began starting fires in the house,” said a government source in Algiers.

“Shelves in the library went up in flames, as she regularly attacked army personnel looking after her safety.” The last straw was when the bleach blonde nicknamed the “Claudia Schiffer of North Africa” destroyed a portrait of Algerian president Abdul Aziz Bouteflika, local newspaper Ennahar reported.

For this sign of disrespect she was kicked out of the country, eventually finding asylum in Britain’s Gulf ally, Oman. » | Henry Samuel and Nabila Ramdani | Tuesday, April 02, 2013

Salafism On Rise in North Africa: Algeria Moves to Stem Imported Religious Ideas
MIDDLE EAST ONLINE: Algerian authorities give all-clear for union of imams to protect country's moderate form of Islam from teachings of hardline Salafists.

Algerian authorities have given the all-clear for a union of imams to protect the country's traditionally moderate form of Islam from the teachings of hardline Salafists whose influence is on the rise in North Africa.

The move comes two months after an Al-Qaeda-linked attack on a desert gas plant, where 37 foreign hostages were killed during a siege and army rescue operation, and amid fears of jihadist groups gaining ground in neighbouring Tunisia.

The union's "mission will be to defend the material and moral rights of the imams and to act as a bulwark against imported religious ideas, Salafist or other," its secretary general Sheikh Djelloul Hadjimi said.

The preacher of El Ouarthilani mosque, in the Telemly district of the capital Algiers, welcomes his followers over tea and dates, some of them seeking a fatwa, or religious edict, others asking for advice or material assistance.

He says he is used to receiving people suffering from psychological afflictions, including young people who have tried to commit suicide.

But since the union was officially announced in mid-March, he has struggled to cope with his daily agenda and the phone hasn't stopped ringing.

Sheikh Hadjimi has said that the bulk of the union's work must be focused on Algiers, "where a large majority of the mosques are hostage to Salafist imams." » | Abdelhafid Daamache | ALGIERS | Sunday, March 31, 2013

Algeria Doesn't Need Lectures from Dave on Fighting Terrorism

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron can expect a frosty reception from his Algerian hosts today when he becomes the first British Prime Minister to visit the North African country since it gained independence in 1962.

Mr Cameron's visit is in response to the al-Qaeda attack on the In Amenas gas complex earlier this month in which 68 people died, including three British workers. After the Algerians refused Mr Cameron's offers of help to end the siege – including a SAS unit – the prime minister hopes to establish a better working relationship in fighting the growing Islamist menace that is taking root in North Africa. Read on and comment » | Con Coughlin | Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Algeria Hostage Crisis: Grim News That Can Be Traced to the ‘Triumphant’ Removal of Gaddafi
THE INDEPENDENT: Gaddafi’s overthrow broke all kinds of local ethnic, tribal and commercial bargains and power-broking arrangements that we never understood

“Take but degree away, untune that string, and hark what discord follows.”

This Jacobean plea for stability should be ringing in our ears as we watch the latest manifestation of instability in the Middle East/North Africa (Mena), this time in Algeria. And while much of the Arab Spring was self-generated, current troubles in the Sahel owe a great deal to the Nato “triumph” in assisting in the downfall of Gaddafi. » | Jonathan Shaw* | Thursday, January 17, 2013

* Maj Gen Jonathan Shaw was Chief of Staff of UK Land Forces between 2007 and 2008. He joined the Parachute Regiment in 1981 and went on to serve in the Falklands, Kosovo and Iraq before joining the MoD

Algeria Hostage Crisis: Bloody Climax to the Battle for the Desert Gas Plant
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Islamist extremists "executed" seven hostages on Saturday before a final, bloody assault by the Algerian army ended a four-day siege in the desert.

Algeria's special forces stormed the gas complex, jointly run by BP and staffed by many British workers, after reports that the extremists had begun shooting foreigners they had kidnapped.

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, said five Britons and one UK resident, called Carlos Estrada, remained "unaccounted for" and the country had to “prepare for bad news”. One Briton had already been confirmed dead on Wednesday.

BP said last night that four of its employees were still missing several hours after a dramatic firefight inside the gas plant which left more than 30 terrorists dead. The Algerian foreign ministry said that during the course of four days 23 hostages and 32 militants had been killed. » | Robert Mendick, Patrick Sawer and Harriet Alexander | Saturday, January 19, 2013

Deaths Confirmed in Algeria Hostage Rescue Bid
An Algerian military raid to free hostages at a desert gas plant is over, according to state media. Multiple fatalities have been reported, but it's still unclear exactly how many people were killed. Al Jazeera's Paul Brennan reports.

Sahara Hostage Holders Make New Threat

REUTERS.COM: (Reuters) - At least 18 foreign hostages were unaccounted for on Friday and their al-Qaeda-linked captors threatened to attack other energy installations after Algerian forces stormed a desert gas complex to free hundreds of captives, resulting in dozens of deaths.

With Western leaders clamoring for details of a raid they said Algeria had launched on Thursday without consulting them, a local source said the sprawling compound was still surrounded by Algerian special forces and some hostages remained inside.

Thirty hostages, including several Westerners, were killed during the assault, the source said, along with at least 18 of their captors, who said they had taken the site as retaliation for French intervention against Islamists in neighboring Mali.

The crisis represents a serious escalation of unrest in northwestern Africa, where French forces have been in Mali since last week fighting an Islamist takeover of Timbuktu and other towns in the north, and could devastate OPEC member Algeria's oil industry, just as it recovers from a civil war in the 1990s.

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the Algerian government had told him its operation was still going on at mid-morning on Friday. "The death of several hostages is appalling," he told journalists.

Two Japanese, two Britons and a French national were among at least seven foreigners killed, the Algerian source said.

Ten Japanese were among those still unaccounted for on Friday, their Japanese employer said, while Norwegian energy company Statoil, which runs the Tigantourine gas field with Britain's BP and Algeria's national oil company, said eight Norwegian employees were still missing.

Some British workers also appeared to be unaccounted for, though Prime Minister David Cameron said only that fewer than 30 Britons were still at risk as the operation continued.

Washington has said a number of Americans were among the hostages, without giving details, and the local source said a U.S. aircraft landed nearby on Friday to evacuate Americans. » | Lamine Chikhi, ALGIERS | Additional reporting by Ali Abdelatti in Cairo, Eamonn Mallie in Belfast, Gwladys Fouche in Oslo, Mohammed Abbas in London and Padraic Halpin and Conor Humprhies in Dublin; Writing by Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Alastair Macdonald | Friday, January 18, 2013

Algerian Siege: Cameron Warns UK to 'Prepare for Bad News'
BBC: Britain should "prepare for bad news ahead" on the Algerian hostage crisis, the prime minister has said.

David Cameron was speaking after it was revealed that Downing Street was not informed in advance of an operation by Algerian forces to free hostages and end the siege by Islamist militants at a gas facility in Algeria.

A British citizen and an Algerian were killed on Wednesday. Two unnamed people from Scotland and an Irishman, 36-year-old Stephen McFaul, have reportedly been released. Watch BBC video » | Thursday, January 17, 2013

'Briton Killed' and '40 BP Workers Held Hostage' in Algeria Attack
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Al Qaeda-linked hostage takers claiming to hold 41 foreigners hostage at a gas field partly operated by British Petroleum in Algeria have reportedly threatened to blow themselves up after killing a Briton.

Algeria's official APS news agency cited provincial officials for news of the death, which came after an early morning attack by Islamists.

The militants say they are holding an [sic] seven Americans and an unspecified number of British, Japanese and French amongst other nationalities, a spokesman is cited as saying by two Mauritanian news agencies - Agence Nouakchott information et Sahara Medias. A security source quoted by Algeria's El Watan newspaper quoted the same figure.

"A second person, a British national, died in the terrorist attack carried out early on Wednesday morning in Tigantourine," the APS news agency said, citing local officials. Six other people have been wounded.

Prime Minister David Cameron will chair a meeting of the Government's crisis committee Cobra on the incident later on Wednesday.

The natural gas complex, the third largest in the country, is a joint venture of British Petroleum, Norway's Statoil and the Algerian Sonatrach company located some 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) south of the capital near the Libyan border.

The Algerian Interior Ministry said heavily armed gunman in three vehicles attacked the complex early on Wednesday morning. » | Barney Henderson, and Henry Samuel in Paris | Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Col Gaddafi’s Children 'Flee Algeria’
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Col Muammar Gaddafi’s children have fled Algeria, fearing the oil-rich dictatorship’s improving relations with the new Libya authorities is undermining their safe haven.

Tight restrictions on the family and the prospect of a deal to allow Gaddafi’s widow back into Libya prompted the family to seek refuge elsewhere in Africa, regional officials said.

Reports in the Arabic press this week said that Aisha Gaddafi, the lawyer and most prominent member of the clan, had moved with her brother Hannibal and half-brother Mohammad to an African country.

Because of the UN flight ban on the Gaddafi inner circle, the siblings could most readily gain access to Niger, the impoverished Saharan state where a third brother, Saadi, lives on the presidential compound.

Niger is one of the few options open to the family as offers of asylum in Zimbabwe and Venezuela were impractical. Other countries are less reliable. Mauritania extradited Abdullah Senussi, Aisha’s uncle and Gaddafi’s intelligence chief back to Libya this summer.

A series of recent developments triggered the decision to leave the highly protected, secluded compound that the Gaddafis were granted inAlgerian government, a family associate said. “Definitely they wanted to get out,” he said.

Aisha Gaddafi is said to have grown increasingly frustrated with the restrictions on her communications imposed by the Algerian regime. » | Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Sunday, November 11, 2012

Italian Authorities Gagged Immigrants with Duct Tape While Deporting Them
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Italian authorities faced severe criticism on Thursday after it emerged that they gagged two North African immigrants with duct tape while deporting them.

A photograph of the two handcuffed Algerian men with their mouths bound with sticky tape was taken covertly by a passenger on the Alitalia flight from Rome to Tunis.

"In the seats at the back there were two men who were being escorted by four plainclothes police officers," Francesco Sperandeo, a film maker, wrote on his Facebook page, where he posted the photo.

"They had their mouths covered with hospital bandages. When one of the bandages dropped down, we saw that the man's mouth was bound with Scotch tape.

"We got up to protest but the officers said it was normal procedure." He was ordered to return to his seat, he said. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Thursday, April 19, 2012

Algerian Cleric Ali Belhadj, Former Vice-President of the Islamic Salvation Front, Calls Sarkozy "Despicable" for Having Muhammed Merah Buried in France; French Citizen Tears Up His Passport, Calling Sarkozy a "Pig" and Justifying Merah's Actions (March 30, 2012)

Algeria Doesn't Want French Gunman's Body, Muslim Leader Says
FOX NEWS: TOULOUSE, France – A young man who claimed responsibility for France's worst terror attacks in years will be buried Thursday in a Muslim cemetery near the southern city where he was killed in gunfight with police, religious leaders said.

Burying Mohamed Merah is a sensitive issue for both his native France and his father's native Algeria.

Merah told police he filmed himself killing three schoolchildren, a rabbi and three paratroopers in a spate of attacks earlier this month. Merah, who said he had links to Al Qaeda, was shot in the head after a standoff with police last week.

His father wanted him buried in a family plot in Algeria. Merah's body was brought to the airport in the city of Toulouse on Thursday, and his mother had been expecting to accompany it to Algiers on a flight later in the day.

But Abdallah Zekri of the French Muslim Council, or CFCM, told The Associated Press that Algerian authorities refused for "reasons of public order." Zekri had been liaising with Algerian authorities in Toulouse.

Instead, Merah will be buried at the Muslim cemetery in Cornebarrieu, near Toulouse, Zekri said. » | Associated Press | Thursday, March 29, 2012

LE MONDE: Pourquoi Alger a refusé l'enterrement de Merah en Algérie » | Par Amir Akef | Alger | jeudi 29 mars 2012

Toulouse Massacre: Mohammed Merah's Father Threatens to Sue French Police
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The father of Islamist gunman Mohammed Merah is suing a crack French police unit over his son's death as the family prepares for a funeral in Algeria.

The body of 23-year-old, a Frenchman of Algerian descent, was due to arrive in Algeria on Thursday, a family member told AFP.

He was shot dead by French police on March 22 after a lengthy stand-off followed by an exchange of gunfire at his Toulouse apartment.

The body "will be accompanied by the mother and a sister of the deceased," a relative said, adding the corpse would first be washed in France, according to Muslim custom, before being buried in the Medea region south of Algiers.

"I am coordinating the details of the funeral with the father, who is completely overwhelmed by the situation," the killer's uncle Djamel Aziri said.

Algerian authorities have reportedly not yet agreed to a family request that Merah be buried in the north African country.

Algerian lawyer Zahia Mokhtari told AFP Wednesday she had been hired by the dead man's father, Mohammed Benalal Merah, to press charges against French police for shooting him dead.

"Mr Merah thinks that his son was murdered. He has asked us to file a complaint against the French security services," she said. "We will begin the procedure once the burial is completed." » | Thursday, March 29, 2012

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Algérie : les chrétiens craignent l'intolérance

LE FIGARO: Le récent procès d'un converti accusé d'«injures envers le Prophète» illustre le retour en force des islamistes.

La cour d'appel d'Oran a abrité, jeudi dernier, un nouveau procès pour délit religieux. Siaghi Krimo, un maçon de 29 ans converti au christianisme en 2007, est cité à comparaître pour «injures envers le Prophète». En mai dernier, il a été condamné, en première instance, à cinq années de prison ferme. Dénoncé par un voisin à qui il avait remis un DVD sur la vie du Christ, il a été brutalement arrêté par une escouade de policiers comme un dangereux criminel.

Au commissariat, plusieurs officiers se sont relayés pour interroger le «renégat». «Tu es habité par le démon», hurle l'un d'eux. «Si tu étais mon frère, je te tuerais», menace un autre. Pour le juge du tribunal correctionnel qui a prononcé la sentence, la cause est entendue avant tout débat : quitter l'islam pour une autre religion est un crime. «Tu le regretteras !», dit-il à l'inculpé, qui a revendiqué sa foi chrétienne mais nié toute atteinte à l'islam. En l'absence du témoin délateur et malgré un dossier vide, le tribunal écrit dans son jugement : «Il a nié les faits, mais son apostasie est une présomption de culpabilité.» » | Par Arezki Aït-Larbi | mardi 22 novembre 2011