Tony Gatlif (born as Michel Dahmani , 10 September 1948) is a French film director of Romani ethnicity who also works as a screenwriter , composer , actor , and producer .
132-639: Gatlif was born in Algeria of Pied noir ancestry. After his childhood there, Gatlif arrived in France in 1960 following the Algerian War of Independence . Gatlif struggled for years to break into the film industry, playing in several theatrical productions until directing his first film, La Tête en ruine , in 1975. He followed it with the 1979 La Terre au ventre , a story of the Algerian War of Independence. Since
264-645: A Berber dynasty originating from Algeria and which at one point was a dominant power in the Maghreb ruling over much of Morocco and western Algeria including Fez, Sijilmasa , Aghmat , Oujda , most of the Sous and Draa and reaching as far as M'sila and the Zab in Algeria. As the Fatimid state was at the time too weak to attempt a direct invasion, they found another means of revenge. Between
396-607: A bloody siege, they conquered Oran . Following their decisive victories over the Algerians in the western-coastal areas of Algeria, the Spanish decided to get bolder, and invaded more Algerian cities. In 1510, they led a series of sieges and attacks, taking over Bejaia in a large siege , and leading a semi-successful siege against Algiers . They also besieged Tlemcen. In 1511, they took control over Cherchell and Jijel , and attacked Mostaganem where although they were not able to conquer
528-860: A close ally of the jihadists enemy the Soviet Union , these jihadists tended to consider the Afghan jihad a "prelude" to jihad against the Algerian FLN state. After the Marxist government in Afghanistan fell, many of the Salafist-Jihadis returned to Algeria and supported the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) and later the GIA insurgents. During and after the 1988 October Riots Islamists "set about building bridges to
660-544: A destination for hundreds of thousands of European immigrants, who became known as colons and later, as Pied-Noirs . Between 1825 and 1847, 50,000 French people emigrated to Algeria. These settlers benefited from the French government's confiscation of communal land from tribal peoples, and the application of modern agricultural techniques that increased the amount of arable land. Many Europeans settled in Oran and Algiers , and by
792-520: A direct affront to the military hierarchy and cohesion. After a project to realign electoral districts came to light in May, the FIS called for a general strike. Violence ensued and on 3 June 1991 a state of emergency was declared, many constitutional rights were suspended, and parliamentary elections postponed until December. The FIS began to lose the initiative and within a month the two leaders (Mandani and Benhadj) of
924-625: A distinct native population that came to be called Berbers , who are the indigenous peoples of northern Africa. From their principal center of power at Carthage , the Carthaginians expanded and established small settlements along the North African coast; by 600 BC, a Phoenician presence existed at Tipasa , east of Cherchell , Hippo Regius (modern Annaba ) and Rusicade (modern Skikda ). These settlements served as market towns as well as anchorages. As Carthaginian power grew, its impact on
1056-461: A general label for pro-FIS guerrillas), declaring their allegiance to FIS. It national amir was Madani Merzag. By the end of 1994, they controlled over half the guerrillas of the east and west, but barely 20% in the center, near the capital, which was where the GIA were mainly based. They issued communiqués condemning the GIA's indiscriminate targeting of women, journalists and other civilians "not involved in
1188-911: A major supplier of natural gas to Europe. The Algerian military is one of the largest in Africa, with the highest defence budget on the continent and among the highest in the world (ranks 22nd globally). Algeria is a member of the African Union , the Arab League , the OIC , OPEC , the United Nations, and the Arab Maghreb Union , of which it is a founding member. Different forms of the name Algeria include: Arabic : الجزائر , romanized : al-Jazāʾir , Algerian Arabic : دزاير , romanized: dzāyer , French : l'Algérie . The country's full name
1320-570: A man originating from modern day Algeria known as Abd al-Mu'min would soon take control over the Maghreb. During the time of the Almohad Dynasty Abd al-Mu'min 's tribe, the Koumïa, were the main supporters of the throne and the most important body of the empire. Defeating the weakening Almoravid Empire and taking control over Morocco in 1147, they pushed into Algeria in 1152, taking control over Tlemcen, Oran, and Algiers, wrestling control from
1452-468: A mixed system of "total domination and total colonization" whereby French military would wage total war against civilian populations while a colonial administration would provide rule of law and property rights to settlers within French occupied cities. From 1848 until independence, France administered the whole Mediterranean region of Algeria as an integral part and département of the nation. One of France's longest-held overseas territories, Algeria became
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#17330945250991584-458: A mutual agreement on 14 January 1995: the Sant'Egidio platform . This presented a set of principles: respect for human rights and multi-party democracy, rejection of army rule and dictatorship, recognition of Islam, Arab and Berber ethnic identity as essential aspects of Algeria's national identity, demand for the release of FIS leaders, and an end to extrajudicial killing and torture on all sides. To
1716-588: A strategy of "immediate action to destabilize the enemy", by creating "an atmosphere of general insecurity" through "repeated attacks". It considered opposition to violence among some in the FIS as not only misguided but impious. It was far less selective than the MIA, which insisted on ideological training; as a result, it was regularly infiltrated by the security forces, resulting in a rapid leadership turnover as successive heads were killed. The various groups arranged several meetings to attempt to unite their forces, accepting
1848-460: A way out. At the same time, the number of visas granted to Algerians by other countries began to drop substantially. The violence continued throughout 1994, although the economy began to improve during this time; following negotiations with the IMF, the government succeeded in rescheduling debt repayments, providing it with a substantial financial windfall, and further obtained some 40 billion francs from
1980-471: Is a regional power in North Africa and a middle power in global affairs. The country has the second-highest Human Development Index in continental Africa and one of the largest economies in Africa , due mostly to its large petroleum and natural gas reserves, which are the sixteenth and ninth-largest in the world, respectively. Sonatrach , the national oil company, is the largest company in Africa and
2112-613: Is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa . It is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia ; to the east by Libya ; to the southeast by Niger ; to the southwest by Mali , Mauritania , and Western Sahara ; to the west by Morocco ; and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea . The capital and largest city is Algiers , located in the far north on the Mediterranean coast. Inhabited since prehistory , Algeria has been at
2244-493: Is necessary to kill the non-believers for the good reason that they wish to substitute their authority for that of God. The FIS made "spectacular" progress in the first year of its existence, with an enormous following in the urban areas. Its doctors, nurses and rescue teams showed "devotion and effectiveness" helping victims of an earthquake in Tipaza Province ; its organized marches and rallies "applied steady pressure on
2376-524: Is now Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Spain, Malta and Italy. The Hammadids captured and held important regions such as Ouargla, Constantine, Sfax, Susa, Algiers, Tripoli and Fez establishing their rule in every country in the Maghreb region. The Fatimids which was created and established by the Kutama Berbers conquered all of North Africa as well as Sicily and parts of the Middle East. Following
2508-489: Is officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (Arabic: الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية , romanized: al-Jumhūriyah al-Jazāʾiriyah ad-Dīmuqrāṭiyah ash‑Shaʿbiyah ; French: République algérienne démocratique et populaire , abbr. RADP; Berber Tifinagh : ⵜⴰⴳⴷⵓⴷⴰ ⵜⴰⵣⵣⴰⵢⵔⵉⵜ ⵜⴰⵎⴰⴳⴷⴰⵢⵜ ⵜⴰⵖⴻⵔⴼⴰⵏⵜ , Berber Latin alphabet : Tagduda tazzayrit tamagdayt taɣerfant ). Algeria's name derives from
2640-457: Is thought by many that security forces as well as Islamists were involved, as the government had infiltrated the insurgents. Children were widely used, particularly by the rebel groups. Total fatalities have been estimated at 44,000 to between 100,000 and 200,000. The conflict began in January 1992, when the new and enormously popular Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) party appeared poised to defeat
2772-545: Is to take care of the happiness of the three million Arabs, whom the fate of arms has brought under our domination." During this time, only Kabylia resisted, the Kabylians were not colonized until after the Mokrani Revolt in 1871. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote and never completed an unpublished essay outlining his ideas for how to transform Algeria from an occupied tributary state to a colonial regime, wherein he advocated for
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#17330945250992904-490: Is used in media, education, and certain administrative matters, but it has no official status. The vast majority of the population speak the Algerian dialect of Arabic . Most Algerians are Arabs , with Berbers forming a sizeable minority. Sunni Islam is the official religion and practised by 99 percent of the population. Algeria is a semi-presidential republic composed of 58 provinces ( wilayas ) and 1,541 communes . It
3036-533: The Almohads in the second half of the 12th century. The influx of Bedouin tribes was a major factor in the linguistic, cultural Arabization of the Maghreb and in the spread of nomadism in areas where agriculture had previously been dominant. Ibn Khaldun noted that the lands ravaged by the Banu Hilal tribes had become completely arid desert. The Almohads originating from modern day Morocco, although founded by
3168-535: The Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was born shortly afterwards in Algiers on 18 February 1989, and came into legal existence in September 1989. The front was led by two men. Abbassi Madani —a professor at University of Algiers and ex-independence fighter—represented a relatively moderate religious conservatism and symbolically connected the party to the Algerian War of Independence , the traditionally emphasized source of
3300-579: The Kingdom of Altava . During the reign of Kusaila its territory extended from the region of modern-day Fez in the west to the western Aurès and later Kairaouan and the interior of Ifriqiya in the east. After negligible resistance from the locals, Muslim Arabs of the Umayyad Caliphate conquered Algeria in the early 8th century. Large numbers of the indigenous Berber people converted to Islam. Christians, Berber and Latin speakers remained in
3432-469: The Levant . Algeria was the site of the highest state of development of Middle Paleolithic Flake tool techniques. Tools of this era, starting about 30,000 BC, are called Aterian (after the archaeological site of Bir el Ater , south of Tebessa ). The earliest blade industries in North Africa are called Iberomaurusian (located mainly in the Oran region). This industry appears to have spread throughout
3564-570: The Moulouya River in modern-day Morocco to the Atlantic Ocean. The high point of Berber civilisation, unequalled until the coming of the Almohads and Almoravids more than a millennium later, was reached during the reign of Masinissa in the 2nd century BC. After Masinissa's death in 148 BC, the Berber kingdoms were divided and reunited several times. Masinissa's line survived until 24 AD, when
3696-751: The Nile and the Red Sea were living Bedouin nomad tribes expelled from Arabia for their disruption and turbulency. The Banu Hilal and the Banu Sulaym for example, who regularly disrupted farmers in the Nile Valley since the nomads would often loot their farms. The then Fatimid vizier decided to destroy what he could not control, and broke a deal with the chiefs of these Bedouin tribes. The Fatimids even gave them money to leave. Whole tribes set off with women, children, elders, animals and camping equipment. Some stopped on
3828-551: The Odjak of Algiers; and the Reis or the company of corsair captains rebelled, they removed the Ottoman viceroy from power, and placed one of its own in power. The new leader received the title of "Agha" then " Dey " in 1671, and the right to select passed to the divan , a council of some sixty military senior officers. Thus Algiers became a sovereign military republic. It was at first dominated by
3960-719: The Ottoman sultan . Algerian nationalist, historian and statesman Ahmed Tewfik El Madani regarded the regency as the "first Algerian state" and the "Algerian Ottoman republic". Around ~1.8-million-year-old stone artifacts from Ain Hanech (Algeria) were considered to represent the oldest archaeological materials in North Africa. Stone artifacts and cut-marked bones that were excavated from two nearby deposits at Ain Boucherit are estimated to be ~1.9 million years old, and even older stone artifacts to be as old as ~2.4 million years. Hence,
4092-518: The Regency of Algiers was established in 1516 as a largely independent tributary state of the Ottoman Empire . After nearly three centuries as a major power in the Mediterranean, the country was invaded by France in 1830 and formally annexed in 1848, though it was not fully conquered and pacified until 1903. French rule brought mass European settlement that displaced the local population, which
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4224-628: The Sahara desert, and bearded men feared to leave their houses lest they be arrested as FIS sympathizers. The government officially dissolved the FIS on 4 March and its apparatus was dismantled. Of the few FIS activists that remained free, many took this as a declaration of war. Throughout much of the country, remaining FIS activists, along with some Islamists too radical for FIS, took to the forests and mountains with whatever weapons were available and became guerrilla fighters. The very sparsely populated but oil-rich Sahara would remain mostly peaceful for almost
4356-584: The Spanish Navy bombarded Algiers in 1783 and 1784 . For the attack in 1784, the Spanish fleet was to be joined by ships from such traditional enemies of Algiers as Naples , Portugal and the Knights of Malta . Over 20,000 cannonballs were fired, but all these military campaigns were doomed and Spain had to ask for peace in 1786 and paid 1 million pesos to the Dey. In 1792, Algiers took back Oran and Mers el Kébir,
4488-876: The Zirids seceded. To punish them the Fatimids sent the Arab Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym against them. The resultant war is recounted in the epic Tāghribāt . In Al-Tāghrībāt the Amazigh Zirid Hero Khālīfā Al-Zānatī asks daily, for duels, to defeat the Hilalan hero Ābu Zayd al-Hilalī and many other Arab knights in a string of victories. The Zirids , however, were ultimately defeated ushering in an adoption of Arab customs and culture. The indigenous Amazigh tribes, however, remained largely independent, and depending on tribe, location and time controlled varying parts of
4620-421: The largest nation in Africa . It has a semi-arid climate, with the Sahara desert dominating most of the territory except for its fertile and mountainous north, where most of the population is concentrated. With a population of 44 million, Algeria is the tenth-most populous country in Africa, and the 33rd-most populous country in the world. Algeria's official languages are Arabic and Tamazight ; French
4752-482: The "eradicators". A few shadowy pro-government paramilitaries, such as the Organisation of Young Free Algerians (OJAL), emerged and began attacking civilian Islamist supporters. On 10 March 1994, over 1000 (mainly Islamist) prisoners escaped Tazoult prison in what appeared to be a major coup for the guerrillas; later, conspiracy theorists would suggest that this had been staged to allow the security forces to infiltrate
4884-916: The 1 million deaths claimed by the Algerian government after independence. Horne estimated Algerian casualties during the span of eight years to be around 700,000. The war uprooted more than 2 million Algerians. Algerian Civil War Algerian government victory Armed Islamic Group (from 1993) Minor involvement: [REDACTED] Sudan (alleged) [REDACTED] Iran (alleged) Egyptian Islamic Jihad (until 1995) Abdelhak Layada ( POW ) Djafar al-Afghani † Cherif Gousmi † Djamel Zitouni † Antar Zouabri † [REDACTED] Armed Forces [REDACTED] police Gendarmerie State Security Local militias Escalation 1994–1996 Massacres and reconciliation 1996–1999 Defeat of
5016-594: The 11th. The last were evacuated to Sicily by the Normans and the few remaining died out in the 14th century. During the Middle Ages , North Africa was home to many great scholars, saints and sovereigns including Judah Ibn Quraysh , the first grammarian to mention Semitic and Berber languages, the great Sufi masters Sidi Boumediene (Abu Madyan) and Sidi El Houari , and the Emirs Abd Al Mu'min and Yāghmūrasen . It
5148-520: The 1981 film Corre, gitano , Gatlif's work has been focused on the Romani people of Europe , from whom he partially traces his descent. After making Gaspard et Robinson in 1990, Gatlif spent 1992 and 1993 shooting Latcho Drom , which was awarded numerous prizes. This feature-length musical film, often mislabelled as a documentary, deals with gypsy culture throughout the world around the theme of their music and dance. For Vincent Ostria, then journalist at
5280-572: The Ain Boucherit evidence shows that ancestral hominins inhabited the Mediterranean fringe in northern Africa much earlier than previously thought. The evidence strongly argues for early dispersal of stone tool manufacture and use from East Africa, or a possible multiple-origin scenario of stone technology in both East and North Africa. Neanderthal tool makers produced hand axes in the Levalloisian and Mousterian styles (43,000 BC) similar to those in
5412-609: The Almohads in 1248 after killing their Caliph in a successful ambush near Oujda. The Zayyanids retained their control over Algeria for 3 centuries. Much of the eastern territories of Algeria were under the authority of the Hafsid dynasty , although the Emirate of Bejaia encompassing the Algerian territories of the Hafsids would occasionally be independent from central Tunisian control. At their peak
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5544-797: The Berber revolt numerous independent states emerged across the Maghreb. In Algeria the Rustamid Kingdom was established. The Rustamid realm stretched from Tafilalt in Morocco to the Nafusa mountains in Libya including south, central and western Tunisia therefore including territory in all of the modern day Maghreb countries, in the south the Rustamid realm expanded to the modern borders of Mali and included territory in Mauritania . Once extending their control over all of
5676-602: The Cahiers du Cinéma, it was "the most genuine film of the year (1993 editor's note)." A year later, Gatlif brought the world of the author J. M. G. Le Clézio to the screen in Mondo (1994). His 2004 film Exils , won the Best Director Award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival . His film Transylvania also premiered at Cannes in May 2006. Algeria Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria ,
5808-436: The FIS were arrested and later sentenced to twelve years in prison. Support for armed struggle began to develop among Bouyali's followers and veterans of the Afghan jihad and on 28 November the first act of jihad against the government occurred when a frontier post (at Guemmar ) was attacked and the heads of army conscripts were cut off. Despite this, the FIS participated in the legislative elections, and on 26 December 1991 won
5940-413: The FIS. Instead, Zéroual embarked on a new plan: he scheduled presidential elections for 1995, while promoting "eradicationists" such as Lamari within the army and organizing "self-defense militias" in villages to fight the guerrillas. The end of 1994 saw a noticeable upsurge in violence. Over 1994, Algeria's isolation deepened; most foreign press agencies, such as Reuters , left the country this year, while
6072-445: The FLN government after independence. In the 1980s the government imported two renowned Islamic scholars, Mohammed al-Ghazali and Yusuf al-Qaradawi , to "strengthen the religious dimension" of the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) party's "nationalist ideology". Rather than doing this, the clerics worked to promote "Islamic awakening" as they were " fellow travelers " of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of Saudi Arabia and
6204-566: The FLN government, and interest in jihad against it include: a population explosion in the 1960s and 70s that outstripped the stagnant economy's ability to supply jobs, housing, food and urban infrastructure to massive numbers of young in the urban areas; a collapse in the price of oil, whose sale supplied 95% of Algeria's exports and 60% of the government's budget; a single-party state ostensibly based on Arab socialism , anti-imperialism , and popular democracy , but ruled by high-level military and consisting primarily of French-speaking clans from
6336-408: The French destroyed over 8,000 villages and relocated over 2 million Algerians to concentration camps . The war led to the death of hundreds of thousands of Algerians and hundreds of thousands of injuries. Historians, like Alistair Horne and Raymond Aron , state that the actual number of Algerian Muslim war dead was far greater than the original FLN and official French estimates but was less than
6468-436: The GIA 1999–2002 The Algerian Civil War ( Arabic : الحرب الأهلية الجزائرية ), known in Algeria as the Black Decade ( Arabic : العشرية السوداء , French : La décennie noire ), was a civil war fought between the Algerian government and various Islamist rebel groups from 11 January 1992 (following a coup negating an Islamist electoral victory) to 8 February 2002. The war began slowly, as it initially appeared
6600-427: The GIA had deviated from Islam and that this caliphate was an effort by ex-FIS leader Mohammed Said to take over the GIA. The GIA continued attacks on its usual targets, notably assassinating artists, such as Cheb Hasni , and in late August added a new practice to its activities: threatening insufficiently Islamist schools with arson . At the end of October, the government announced the failure of its negotiations with
6732-414: The GIA proper were hunted down over the next two years, and had practically disappeared by 2002, with the exception of a splinter group called the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which announced its support for Al-Qaeda in October 2003 and continued fighting an insurgency that would eventually spread to other countries in the region. Social conditions that led to dissatisfaction with
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#17330945250996864-425: The GIA, while the AIS, under attack from both sides, declared a unilateral ceasefire with the government in 1997. In the meantime, the 1997 parliamentary elections were won by a newly created pro-Army party supporting the president. In 1999, following the election of Abdelaziz Bouteflika as president, violence declined as large numbers of insurgents "repented", taking advantage of a new amnesty law. The remnants of
6996-422: The GIA. Meanwhile, under Cherif Gousmi (its leader since March), the GIA became the most high-profile guerrilla army in 1994, and achieved supremacy over the FIS. In May, several Islamist leaders that were not jailed (Mohammed Said, Abderraraq Redjem), including the MEI's Said Makhloufi, joined the GIA. This was a surprise to many observers, and a blow to the FIS since the GIA had been issuing death threats against
7128-484: The Hilian Arabs, and by the same year they defeated Hammadids who controlled Eastern Algeria. Following their decisive defeat in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 the Almohads began collapsing, and in 1235 the governor of modern-day Western Algeria, Yaghmurasen Ibn Zyan declared his independence and established the Kingdom of Tlemcen and the Zayyanid dynasty . Warring with the Almohad forces attempting to restore control over Algeria for 13 years, they defeated
7260-441: The Islamic Era. The Berber people historically consisted of several tribes. The two main branches were the Botr and Barnès tribes, who were divided into tribes, and again into sub-tribes. Each region of the Maghreb contained several tribes (for example, Sanhadja , Houara , Zenata , Masmouda , Kutama , Awarba, and Berghwata ). All these tribes made independent territorial decisions. Several Amazigh dynasties emerged during
7392-500: The MEI merged with the GIA in May 1994. The FIS itself established an underground network, with clandestine newspapers and even an MIA-linked radio station, and began issuing official statements from abroad starting in late 1992. However, at this stage the opinions of the guerrilla movements on the FIS were mixed; while many supported FIS, a significant faction, led by the "Afghans", regarded party political activity as inherently un-Islamic, and therefore rejected FIS statements. In 1993,
7524-472: The Maghreb, at times unifying it (as under the Fatimids). The Fatimid Islamic state, also known as Fatimid Caliphate made an Islamic empire that included North Africa, Sicily, Palestine , Jordan , Lebanon , Syria , Egypt , the Red Sea coast of Africa, Tihamah, Hejaz and Yemen . Caliphates from Northern Africa traded with the other empires of their time, as well as forming part of a confederated support and trade network with other Islamic states during
7656-403: The Maghreb, part of Spain and briefly over Sicily, originating from modern Algeria, the Zirids only controlled modern Ifriqiya by the 11th century. The Zirids recognized nominal suzerainty of the Fatimid caliphs of Cairo. El Mu'izz the Zirid ruler decided to end this recognition and declared his independence. The Zirids also fought against other Zenata Kingdoms, for example the Maghrawa ,
7788-444: The Middle Ages in the Maghreb and other nearby lands. Ibn Khaldun provides a table summarising the Amazigh dynasties of the Maghreb region, the Zirid , Ifranid , Maghrawa , Almoravid , Hammadid , Almohad , Merinid , Abdalwadid , Wattasid , Meknassa and Hafsid dynasties. Both of the Hammadid and Zirid empires as well as the Fatimids established their rule in all of the Maghreb countries. The Zirids ruled land in what
7920-568: The Moroccan border closed and the main foreign airlines cancelled all routes. The resulting gap in news coverage was further worsened by a government order in June banning Algerian media from reporting any terrorism-related news not covered in official press releases. A few FIS leaders, notably Rabah Kebir , had escaped into exile abroad. Upon the invitation of the Rome-based Community of Sant'Egidio , in November 1994, they began negotiations in Rome with other opposition parties, both Islamist and secular (FLN, FFS, FIS, MDA, PT, JMC). They came out with
8052-431: The Muslim population, which lacked political and economic status under the colonial system, gave rise to demands for greater political autonomy and eventually independence from France . In May 1945, the uprising against the occupying French forces was suppressed through what is now known as the Sétif and Guelma massacre . Tensions between the two population groups came to a head in 1954, when the first violent events of what
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#17330945250998184-406: The Romans in the Punic Wars . In 146 BC the city of Carthage was destroyed. As Carthaginian power waned, the influence of Berber leaders in the hinterland grew. By the 2nd century BC, several large but loosely administered Berber kingdoms had emerged. Two of them were established in Numidia , behind the coastal areas controlled by Carthage. West of Numidia lay Mauretania , which extended across
8316-407: The Zayyanid kingdom included all of Morocco as its vassal to the west and in the east reached as far as Tunis which they captured during the reign of Abu Tashfin. After several conflicts with local Barbary pirates sponsored by the Zayyanid sultans, Spain decided to invade Algeria and defeat the native Kingdom of Tlemcen. In 1505, they invaded and captured Mers el Kébir , and in 1509 after
8448-433: The attacks on U.S. ships in 1815. A year later, a combined Anglo - Dutch fleet, under the command of Lord Exmouth bombarded Algiers to stop similar attacks on European fishermen. These efforts proved successful, although Algerian piracy would continue until the French conquest in 1830. Under the pretext of a slight to their consul, the French invaded and captured Algiers in 1830. According to several historians,
8580-449: The bombing along with the other major parties, but the FIS's influence over the guerrillas turned out to be limited. The regime began to lose control of mountain and rural districts. In working class areas of the cities insurgents expelled the police and declared "liberated Islamic zones". Even the main roads of the cities passed into the hands of the insurgents. The first major armed movement to emerge, starting almost immediately after
8712-460: The captives. According to Robert Davis, from the 16th to 19th century, pirates captured 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans as slaves. They often made raids on European coastal towns to capture Christian slaves to sell at slave markets in North Africa and other parts of the Ottoman Empire . In 1544, for example, Hayreddin Barbarossa captured the island of Ischia , taking 4,000 prisoners, and enslaved some 9,000 inhabitants of Lipari , almost
8844-427: The cities of North Africa. Algiers lost between 30,000 and 50,000 inhabitants to the plague in 1620–21, and had high fatalities in 1654–57, 1665, 1691 and 1740–42. The Barbary pirates preyed on Christian and other non-Islamic shipping in the western Mediterranean Sea. The pirates often took the passengers and crew on the ships and sold them or used them as slaves . They also did a brisk business in ransoming some of
8976-405: The cities, instead looting them and destroying them. The invasion kept going, and in 1057 the Arabs spread on the high plains of Constantine where they encircled the Qalaa of Banu Hammad (capital of the Hammadid Emirate ), as they had done in Kairouan a few decades ago. From there they gradually gained the upper Algiers and Oran plains. Some of these territories were forcibly taken back by
9108-402: The city of Algiers , which in turn derives from the Arabic al-Jazāʾir ( الجزائر , "the islands"), referring to four small islands off its coast, a truncated form of the older Jazāʾir Banī Mazghanna ( جزائر بني مزغنة , "islands of Bani Mazghanna"). The name was given by Buluggin ibn Ziri after he established the city on the ruins of the Phoenician city of Icosium in 950. It
9240-402: The city, they were able to force a tribute on them. In 1516, the Turkish privateer brothers Aruj and Hayreddin Barbarossa , who operated successfully under the Hafsids , moved their base of operations to Algiers. They succeeded in conquering Jijel and Algiers from the Spaniards with help from the locals who saw them as liberators from the Christians, but the brothers eventually assassinated
9372-432: The coastal regions of the Maghreb between 15,000 and 10,000 BC. Neolithic civilization (animal domestication and agriculture) developed in the Saharan and Mediterranean Maghreb perhaps as early as 11,000 BC or as late as between 6000 and 2000 BC. This life, richly depicted in the Tassili n'Ajjer paintings, predominated in Algeria until the classical period. The mixture of peoples of North Africa coalesced eventually into
9504-511: The collaborationist Hamas party and the urban poor for jihad; and the other side, the government, had to be interested in the agreement. Those two features being lacking, the platform's effect was at best limited – though some argue that, in the words of Andrea Riccardi who brokered the negotiations for the Community of Sant'Egidio, "the platform made the Algerian military leave the cage of a solely military confrontation and forced them to react with
9636-703: The command of Dutch pirate Jan Janszoon sailed as far as Iceland , raiding and capturing slaves . Two weeks earlier another pirate ship from Salé in Morocco had also raided in Iceland. Some of the slaves brought to Algiers were later ransomed back to Iceland, but some chose to stay in Algeria. In 1629, pirate ships from Algeria raided the Faroe Islands . In 1659, the Janissaries stationed in Algiers, also known commonly as
9768-538: The continued use of French in higher education and public life jarring and disadvantageous. In January 1991 following the start of the Gulf War , the FIS led giant demonstrations in support of Saddam Hussein and Iraq. One demonstration ended in front of the Ministry of Defense where radical leader Ali Benhadj gave an impassioned speech demanding a corp of volunteers be sent to fight for Saddam. The Algerian military took this as
9900-479: The coup, was the Islamic Armed Movement (MIA). The group was founded by former militants of Mustafa Bouyali "group" such as Abdelkader Chebouti, Mansouri Meliani, and Ezzedine Baa and they named themselves after his group active in the 80's. It was led by the ex-soldier "General" Abdelkader Chebouti, a longstanding Islamist. The MIA was "well-organized and structured and favored a long-term jihad" targeting
10032-463: The crossroads of numerous cultures and civilizations, including the Phoenicians , Numidians , Romans , Vandals , and Byzantine Greeks . Its modern identity is rooted in centuries of Arab Muslim migration waves since the seventh century and the subsequent Arabization of the indigenous populations. Following a succession of Islamic Arab and Berber dynasties between the eighth and 15th centuries,
10164-500: The definition of its borders with its neighboring entities on the east and west. The Ottoman Turks who settled in Algeria referred both to themselves and the peoples as " Algerians ". Acting as a central military and political authority in the regency, the Ottoman Turks shaped the modern political identity of Algeria as a state possessing all the attributes of sovereign independence, despite still being nominally subject to
10296-613: The divisions within the guerrilla movement became more distinct. The MIA and MEI, concentrated in the maquis , attempted to develop a military strategy against the state, typically targeting the security services and sabotaging or bombing state institutions. From its inception on, however, the GIA, concentrated in urban areas, called for and implemented the killing of anyone supporting the authorities, including government employees such as teachers and civil servants. It assassinated journalists and intellectuals (such as Tahar Djaout ), saying that "The journalists who fight against Islamism through
10428-489: The early 20th century they formed a majority of the population in both cities. During the late 19th and early 20th century, the European share was almost a fifth of the population. The French government aimed at making Algeria an assimilated part of France, and this included substantial educational investments especially after 1900. The indigenous cultural and religious resistance heavily opposed this tendency, but in contrast to
10560-760: The early 4th century BC, Berbers formed the single largest element of the Carthaginian army. In the Revolt of the Mercenaries , Berber soldiers rebelled from 241 to 238 BC after being unpaid following the defeat of Carthage in the First Punic War . They succeeded in obtaining control of much of Carthage's North African territory, and they minted coins bearing the name Libyan, used in Greek to describe natives of North Africa. The Carthaginian state declined because of successive defeats by
10692-564: The east side of the country; "corruption on a grand scale"; underemployed Arabic-speaking college graduates frustrated that the "Arab language fields of law and literature took a decisive back seat to the French-taught scientific fields in terms of funding and job opportunities"; and in response to these issues, "the most serious riots since independence" occurring in October 1988 when thousands of urban youth (known as hittistes ) took control of
10824-570: The entire duration of the conflict. This meant that the government's principal source of foreign exchange—oil exports—was largely unaffected. The tense situation was compounded by the economy, which collapsed even further that year, as almost all of the longstanding subsidies on food were eliminated. At first Algeria remained relatively calm. But in March 1993 "a steady succession of university academics, intellectuals, writer, journalist, and medical doctors were assassinated." While not all were connected with
10956-611: The entire population. In 1551, the Ottoman governor of Algiers, Turgut Reis , enslaved the entire population of the Maltese island of Gozo . Barbary pirates often attacked the Balearic Islands . The threat was so severe that residents abandoned the island of Formentera . The introduction of broad-sail ships from the beginning of the 17th century allowed them to branch out into the Atlantic. In July 1627 two pirate ships from Algiers under
11088-512: The fact that the zones were surrounded by the army, impoverished and victimized the pious business class which eventually fled the zones, severely weakening the Islamist cause. On 26 August, the GIA even declared a caliphate , or Islamic government, for Algeria, with Gousmi as " Commander of the Faithful ". However, the very next day, Said Mekhloufi announced his withdrawal from the GIA, claiming that
11220-691: The few in North Africa who remained independent. The Berber people were so resistant that even during the Muslim conquest of North Africa they still had control and possession over their mountains. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire led to the establishment of a native Kingdom based in Altava (modern-day Algeria) known as the Mauro-Roman Kingdom . It was succeeded by another Kingdom based in Altava,
11352-460: The first round with 188 deputies elected, as opposed to just 16 for the FLN, despite getting one million fewer votes than it had in the 1990 elections. It appeared to be on track to win an absolute majority in the second round on 16 January 1992. The FIS had made open threats against the ruling power, condemning them as unpatriotic and pro-French, as well as financially corrupt. Additionally, FIS leadership
11484-403: The government and its supporters. They formed themselves into various armed groups , principally the Islamic Armed Movement (MIA), based primarily in the mountains, and the more hard-line Armed Islamic Group (GIA), based primarily in the towns. The GIA motto was "no agreement, no truce, no dialogue" and it declared war on the FIS in 1994 after the latter had made progress in negotiations with
11616-624: The government had successfully crushed the Islamist movement, but armed groups emerged to declare jihad and by 1994, violence had reached such a level that it appeared the government might not be able to withstand it. By 1996–97, it had become clear that the Islamist resistance had lost its popular support, although fighting continued for several years after. The war has been referred to as 'the dirty war' ( la sale guerre ), and saw extreme violence and brutality used against civilians. Islamists targeted journalists , over 70 of whom were killed, and foreigners, over 100 of whom were killed, although it
11748-568: The government. The MIA and various smaller insurgent bands regrouped, becoming the FIS-loyalist Islamic Salvation Army (AIS). After talks collapsed, elections were held in 1995 and won by the army's candidate, General Liamine Zéroual . The GIA fought the government, as well as the AIS, and began a series of massacres targeting entire neighborhoods or villages which peaked in 1997. The massacre policy caused desertion and splits in
11880-622: The great majority in Tunisia until the end of the 9th century and Muslims only became a vast majority some time in the 10th. After the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate, numerous local dynasties emerged, including the Rustamids , Aghlabids , Fatimids , Zirids , Hammadids , Almoravids , Almohads and the Zayyanids . The Christians left in three waves: after the initial conquest, in the 10th century and
12012-564: The growing power of the GIA, inside the "liberated Islamic zones" of the insurgency, conditions were beginning to deteriorate. The Islamist notables, entrepreneurs, and shopkeepers had at first funded the insurgent amirs and fighters, hoping for revenge against the government that had seized power from the FIS movement they supported. But over the months the voluntary "Islamic tax" became a "full-scale extortionist racket, operated by band of armed men claiming to represent an ever more shadowy cause," who also fought each other over turf. The extortion and
12144-502: The imprisoned FIS leadership, releasing some prisoners by way of encouragement. The talks split the pro-government political spectrum. The largest political parties, especially the FLN and FFS , continued to call for compromise, while other forces—most notably the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA), but including smaller leftist and feminist groups such as the secularist RCD —sided with
12276-456: The indigenous population increased dramatically. Berber civilisation was already at a stage in which agriculture, manufacturing, trade, and political organisation supported several states. Trade links between Carthage and the Berbers in the interior grew, but territorial expansion also resulted in the enslavement or military recruitment of some Berbers and in the extraction of tribute from others. By
12408-533: The institution of a regular administration, governors with the title of pasha ruled for three-year terms. The pasha was assisted by an autonomous janissary unit, known in Algeria as the Ojaq who were led by an agha . Discontent among the ojaq rose in the mid-1600s because they were not paid regularly, and they repeatedly revolted against the pasha. As a result, the agha charged the pasha with corruption and incompetence and seized power in 1659. Plague had repeatedly struck
12540-458: The international community to back its economic liberalization . As it became obvious that the fighting would continue for some time, General Liamine Zéroual was named new president of the High Council of State ; he was considered to belong to the dialoguiste (pro-negotiation) rather than éradicateur ( eradicator ) faction of the army. Soon after taking office, he began negotiations with
12672-564: The land, as they were harassed by local tribes. In fact, by the time the Byzantines arrived Leptis Magna was abandoned and the Msellata region was occupied by the indigenous Laguatan who had been busy facilitating an Amazigh political, military and cultural revival. Furthermore, during the rule of the Romans, Byzantines, Vandals, Carthaginians, and Ottomans the Berber people were the only or one of
12804-549: The leaders since November 1993. The move was interpreted either as the result of intra-FIS competition or as an attempt to change the GIA's course from within. FIS-loyal guerrillas, threatened with marginalization, attempted to unite their forces. In July 1994, the MIA, together with the remainder of the MEI and a variety of smaller groups, united as the Islamic Salvation Army (a term that had previously sometimes been used as
12936-535: The less-traditional educated French-speaking class. It imposed the veil on female municipal employees; pressured liquor stores, video shops and other un-Islamic establishments to close; and segregated bathing areas by gender. Co-leader of the FIS Ali Benhadj declared his intention in 1990, "to ban France from Algeria intellectually and ideologically, and be done, once and for all, with those whom France has nursed with her poisoned milk." Devout activists removed
13068-434: The local noble Salim al-Tumi and took control over the city and the surrounding regions. Their state is known as the Regency of Algiers . When Aruj was killed in 1518 during his invasion of Tlemcen , Hayreddin succeeded him as military commander of Algiers. The Ottoman sultan gave him the title of beylerbey and a contingent of some 2,000 janissaries . With the aid of this force and native Algerians, Hayreddin conquered
13200-467: The methods used by the French to establish control over Algeria reached genocidal proportions. Historian Ben Kiernan wrote on the French conquest of Algeria: "By 1875, the French conquest was complete. The war had killed approximately 825,000 indigenous Algerians since 1830." French losses from 1831 to 1851 were 92,329 dead in the hospital and only 3,336 killed in action. In 1872, The Algerian population stood at about 2.9 million. French policy
13332-580: The odjak; but by the 18th century, it had become the dey's instrument. Although Algiers remained nominally part of the Ottoman Empire, in reality they acted independently from the rest of the Empire, and often had wars with other Ottoman subjects and territories such as the Beylik of Tunis . The dey was in effect a constitutional autocrat. The dey was elected for a life term, but in the 159 years (1671–1830) that
13464-429: The other Gulf monarchies. Al-Ghazali issuing a number of fatawa (Islamic judicial rulings) favorable to positions taken by local "radical" imams. Another Islamist, Mustafa Bouyali , a "gifted inflammatory preacher" and veteran of the Algerian independence struggle, called for the application of the sharia and creating of an Islamic state by jihad . After persecution by the security services in 1982 he founded
13596-637: The other colonized countries' path in central Asia and Caucasus , Algeria kept its individual skills and a relatively human-capital intensive agriculture. During the Second World War , Algeria came under Vichy control before being liberated by the Allies in Operation Torch , which saw the first large-scale deployment of American troops in the North African campaign . Gradually, dissatisfaction among
13728-414: The overall leadership of Chebouti in theory. At the last of these, at Tamesguida on 1 September, Chebouti expressed his concern about the movement's lack of discipline, in particular worrying that the Algiers airport attack, which he had not approved, could alienate supporters. The meeting was broken up by an assault from the security forces, provoking suspicions which prevented any further meetings. However
13860-479: The pen will perish by the sword." It soon stepped up its attacks by targeting civilians who refused to live by their prohibitions, and in September 1993 began killing foreigners, declaring that "anyone who exceeds" the GIA deadline of 30 November "will be responsible for his own sudden death." 26 Foreigners were killed by the end of 1993 and virtually all foreigners left the country; indeed, (often illegal) Algerian emigration too rose substantially, as people sought
13992-578: The regency's authority was seldom applied in the Kabylia , although in 1730 the Regency was able to take control over the Kingdom of Kuku in western Kabylia. Many cities in the northern parts of the Algerian desert paid taxes to Algiers or one of its Beys. Barbary raids in the Mediterranean continued to attack Spanish merchant shipping, and as a result, the Spanish Empire launched an invasion in 1775 , then
14124-457: The regime, they were French-speaking and so "in the eyes of the young urban poor who had joined the jihad ... associated with the hated image of French-speaking intellectuals". It also "exploded" the idea of the government's triumph over the Islamists. Other attacks showed a willingness to target civilians. The bombing of the Algiers airport claimed 9 lives and injured 128 people. The FIS condemned
14256-501: The remaining Berber territory was annexed to the Roman Empire . For several centuries Algeria was ruled by the Romans, who founded many colonies in the region. Algeria is home to the second-largest number of Roman sites and remains after Italy. Rome, after getting rid of its powerful rival Carthage in the year 146 BC, decided a century later to include Numidia to become the new master of North Africa. They built more than 500 cities. Like
14388-430: The repression", and attacked the GIA's school arson campaign. The AIS and FIS supported a negotiated settlement with the government/military, and the AIS's role was to strengthening FIS's hand in the negotiations. The GIA was absolutely opposed to negotiations and sought instead "to purge the land of the ungodly", including the Algerian government. The two insurgent groups would soon be "locked in bloody combat." Despite
14520-456: The rest of North Africa, Algeria was one of the breadbaskets of the empire, exporting cereals and other agricultural products. Saint Augustine was the bishop of Hippo Regius (modern-day Annaba, Algeria), located in the Roman province of Africa . The Germanic Vandals of Geiseric moved into North Africa in 429, and by 435 controlled coastal Numidia. They did not make any significant settlement on
14652-555: The ruling FLN 's legitimacy. His aim was to "Islamise the regime without altering society's basic fabric." Ali Benhadj , a charismatic preacher and high school teacher appealed to a younger and less educated class. An impassioned orator, he was known for his ability to both enrage or calm at will the tens of thousands of young hittiestes who came to hear him speak. However, his radical speeches and opposition to democratic rule alarmed non-Islamists and feminists. Neither Madani or Benhadj were committed to democracy. In December 1989 Madani
14784-473: The ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) party in the national parliamentary elections in December 1991 . The elections were canceled after the first round and the military effectively took control of the government, forcing pro-reform president Chadli Bendjedid from office. After the FIS was banned and thousands of its members arrested, Islamist guerrillas rapidly emerged and began an armed campaign against
14916-599: The satellite dishes of households receiving European satellite broadcast in favor of Arab satellite dishes receiving Saudi broadcasts. Educationally, the party was committed to continue the Arabization of the educational system by shifting the language of instruction in more institutions, such as medical and technological schools, from French to Arabic. Large numbers of recent graduates, the first post-independence generation educated mainly in Arabic, liked this measure, as they had found
15048-507: The state and its representatives and based on a guerrilla campaign like that of the War of Independence. From prison, Ali Benhadj issued a fatwa giving the MIA his blessing. In February 1992, ex-Algerian officer, ex-Afghan fighter, former FIS head of security and editor of the FIS official newspaper El Mounqid, Said Mekhloufi founded the Movement for an Islamic State (MEI). The other main jihad group
15180-661: The state" to force a promise of early elections. Despite President Bendjedid and his party, the FLN's new liberal reforms, in the 12 June 1990 local elections —the first free elections since independence—the Algerian voters chose the FIS. The party won 54% of votes cast, almost double that of the FLN and far more than any of the other parties. Its supporters were especially concentrated in urban areas. Once in power in local governments, its administration and its Islamic charity were praised by many as just, equitable, orderly and virtuous, in contrast to its corrupt, wasteful, arbitrary and inefficient FLN predecessors. But it also alarmed
15312-430: The streets despite the killing of hundreds by security forces. Islam in Algeria after independence was dominated by Salafist " Islamic revivalism " and political Islam rather than the more apolitical popular Islam of brotherhoods found in other areas of North Africa. The brotherhoods had been dismantled by the FLN government in retaliation for lack of support and their land had been confiscated and redistributed by
15444-468: The surprise of many, even Ali Belhadj endorsed the agreement, which meant that the FIS had returned into the legal framework, along with the other opposition parties. The initiative was also received favorably by "influential circles" in the United States. However, for the agreement to work, the FIS still had to have the support of its original power base, when in fact the pious bourgeous had abandon it for
15576-470: The system was in place, fourteen of the twenty-nine deys were assassinated. Despite usurpation, military coups and occasional mob rule, the day-to-day operation of the Deylikal government was remarkably orderly. Although the regency patronised the tribal chieftains, it never had the unanimous allegiance of the countryside, where heavy taxation frequently provoked unrest. Autonomous tribal states were tolerated, and
15708-518: The two last Spanish strongholds in Algeria. In the same year, they conquered the Moroccan Rif and Oujda , which they then abandoned in 1795. In the 19th century, Algerian pirates forged affiliations with Caribbean powers, paying a "license tax" in exchange for safe harbor of their vessels. Attacks by Algerian pirates on American merchantmen resulted in the First and Second Barbary Wars , which ended
15840-453: The underground Mouvement Islamique Armé (MIA), "a loose association of tiny groups", with himself as amir . His group carried out a series of "bold attacks" against the regime and was able to continue its fight for five years before Bouyali was killed in February 1987. Also in the 1980s, several hundred youth left Algeria for camps of Peshawar to fight jihad in Afghanistan . As Algeria was
15972-605: The way, especially in Cyrenaica , where they are still one of the essential elements of the settlement but most arrived in Ifriqiya by the Gabes region, arriving 1051. The Zirid ruler tried to stop this rising tide, but with each encounter, the last under the walls of Kairouan , his troops were defeated and the Arabs remained masters of the battlefield. The Arabs usually did not take control over
16104-399: The whole area between Constantine and Oran (although the city of Oran remained in Spanish hands until 1792). The next beylerbey was Hayreddin's son Hasan , who assumed the position in 1544. He was a Kouloughli or of mixed origins, as his mother was an Algerian Mooresse. Until 1587 Beylerbeylik of Algiers was governed by Beylerbeys who served terms with no fixed limits. Subsequently, with
16236-605: The young urban poor". Evidence of their effectiveness was that the riots "petered out" after meetings between the President Chadli Bendjedid and Islamists Ali Benhadj and members of the Muslim Brotherhood . The FLN government responded to the riots by amending the Algerian Constitution on 3 November 1988, to allow parties other than the ruling FLN to operate legally. A broad-based Islamist party,
16368-400: Was assassinated by one of his bodyguards, Lieutenant Lambarek Boumaarafi . The assassin was sentenced to death in a closed trial in 1995. The sentence was not carried out. Many FIS members were arrested—5,000 by the army's account, 40,000 according to Gilles Kepel and including its leader Abdelkader Hachani —that the jails had insufficient space to hold them in; camps were set up for them in
16500-433: Was at best divided on the desirability of democracy, and some expressed fears that a FIS government would be, as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Edward Djerejian put it, "one person, one vote, one time." On 11 January 1992 the army cancelled the electoral process, forcing President Bendjedid to resign and bringing in the exiled independence fighter Mohamed Boudiaf to serve as a new president. However, on 29 June 1992 he
16632-524: Was called the Armed Islamic Group (GIA, from French Groupe Islamique Armé ). In January 1993, Abdelhak Layada declared his group independent of Chebouti's. It became particularly prominent around Algiers and its suburbs, in urban environments. It took a hardline position, opposed to both the government and the FIS, affirming that "political pluralism is equivalent to sedition" and issuing death threats against several FIS and MIA leaders. It favored
16764-515: Was during this time that the Fatimids or children of Fatima , daughter of Muhammad , came to the Maghreb . These "Fatimids" went on to found a long lasting dynasty stretching across the Maghreb, Hejaz and the Levant , boasting a secular inner government, as well as a powerful army and navy, made up primarily of Arabs and Levantines extending from Algeria to their capital state of Cairo . The Fatimid caliphate began to collapse when its governors
16896-484: Was employed by medieval geographers such as Muhammad al-Idrisi and Yaqut al-Hamawi . Algeria took its name from the Regency of Algeria or Regency of Algiers, when Ottoman rule was established in the central Maghreb in early 16th century. This period saw the installation of a political and administrative organization which participated in the establishment of the Watan el djazâïr ( وطن الجزائر , country of Algiers) and
17028-530: Was later called the Algerian War began after the publication of the Declaration of 1 November 1954 . Historians have estimated that between 30,000 and 150,000 Harkis and their dependents were killed by the National Liberation Front (FLN) or by lynch mobs in Algeria. The FLN used hit and run attacks in Algeria and France as part of its war, and the French conducted severe reprisals . In addition,
17160-423: Was predicated on "civilising" the country. The slave trade and piracy in Algeria ceased following the French conquest. The conquest of Algeria by the French took some time and resulted in considerable bloodshed. A combination of violence and disease epidemics caused the indigenous Algerian population to decline by nearly one-third from 1830 to 1872. On 17 September 1860, Napoleon III declared "Our first duty
17292-509: Was quoted as saying: We do not accept this democracy which permits an elected official to be in contradiction with Islam, the Shari'a , its doctrines and values. and in February 1989, Benhadj stated: There is no democracy because the only source of power is Allah through the Koran , and not the people. If the people vote against the law of God, this is nothing other than blasphemy . In this case, it
17424-437: Was reduced by up to one-third due to warfare, disease, and starvation. The Sétif and Guelma massacre in 1945 catalysed local resistance that culminated in the outbreak of the Algerian War in 1954. Algeria gained its independence in 1962. The country descended into a bloody civil war from 1992 to 2002. Spanning 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), Algeria is the world's tenth-largest nation by area , and
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