|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The massacre was carried out overnight Wednesday in an isolated spot near Sidi Meklef to the south of the town of Laghouat, 400 km (240 miles) south of Algiers.
The bodies of the victims, including three women and three children, were found by other family members.
This latest incident brings to 60 the number of civilians killed in the past week.
More than 200 people have been killed since the beginning of November and more than 600 people have been killed in attacks since July 13. The government claims that armed Islamists have committed the killings. July 13 is the date of a new law under which armed Islamists who surrendered to the authority of the state could apply for partial or full amnesty.
The new bloodshed comes just a few days before the start of the fasting month of Ramadan, which in recent years has repeatedly seen heightened violence by Islamists who consider the period timely for their struggle against the authoritarian regime, which cancelled free elections that the Islamists were poised to win.
|
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
