ALGIERS (AFP) -Twenty animal shepherds were massacred overnight at Brezina about 400 kilometers (250 miles) southwest of Algiers. The authorities did not identify those held responsible for the attack, but said: "A major search operation has been launched for those behind this criminal act."
The attack was similar to countless similar crimes that have engulfed the North African country for eight years, ever since the Algerian army decided to cancel the country's democratic elections, which Islamists were poised to win. Since then, 100,000 have been killed either by the army-appointed government or by Muslim groups opposed to it.
Strangely, in this most recent attack, the authorities did not use the term "terrorist," which is generally employed to describe attacks by armed Islamic groups.
The slaughter occurred in highlands used by pastoral farmers in the El-Bayadh region.
This is the first attack in several weeks to be officially reported, although private Algerian newspapers have carried almost daily reports of fresh killings since the end of an amnesty offer on January 13.
On that date Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika closed an offer of partial or complete pardon to all armed Islamists who had not committed rape, murder or planted bombs in public places.
A vast army offensive was launched on January 19 to crack down on hardliners who had rejected the deal. Since then, violence has continued unabated, with at least 300 people, including around 100 fighters, killed, according to calculations based on press reports.
Since last Thursday at least 20 people have been killed in several separate attacks. And in one of the bloodiest of recent attacks, at least 14 people were killed in an ambush on a road near Khemis Miliana, in the Ain Defla region, 150 kilometers (90 miles) west of Algiers.
