The BBC's North Africa correspondent, Hebah Saleh: 'Doubts about who is to blame for the violence in Algeria' (Dur 2' 55")

But few could claim to know what lays behind the savage conflict which is tearing Algeria apart.

The story begins in 1962, when Charles de Gaulle made a momentous decision to pull out of the French colony after years of fighting with the nationalist FLN movement.

De Gaulle's decision was seen as a betrayal by the thousands of French settlers, or pieds noir, who had made Algeria their home.

These villagers witnessed the latest massacre

Hundreds of thousands of pieds noir moved to France, followed in the 1970s and 1980s by large numbers of Algerians seeking a better life.

Wave of national euphoria

The FLN (National Liberation Front) rode to power on the crest of a wave of national euphoria and the economy picked up with the discovery of significant quantities of oil.

But by the late 1980s, years of one-party rule, mismanagement, economic stagnation and widespread corruption led to growing resentment.

Out of the increasing disparity between the rich and poor rose the Islamic fundamentalist movement.

In 1992 up to 60 per cent of school-leavers were unemployed, the foreign debt stood at $25 billion and Algeria was down to its last $1bn in hard currency reserves and $2bn in gold.

Just as socialism had been the guiding light of the FLN's rebellion in the 1950s, now Islam was seen as the salvation of Algeria's poor.

Meteoric rise of FIS

The meteoric rise of the FIS (Islamic Salvation Front) terrified the ruling FLN and their friends in the Algerian army, who remained committed to an ideal of Algeria as a progressive, secular, quasi-socialist state.

This little girl was survived the latest massacre

It also struck fear into the hearts of many intellectuals, the liberal middle classes and educated women.

With the FIS heading for victory in the 1992 general election - they won 49 per cent of the vote in the first round of the French-style poll - the army pulled the carpet from under them.

They declared the election null and void, banned the FIS and set up a High Council of State which bypassed the democratic process.

Widespread international criticism

There was widespread international criticism of the `coup.' But economic sanctions were not forthcoming and the perceived acquiescence of the west, and France in particular, has been a source of deep resentment among the Islamists.

With the party outlawed and its leaders under arrest or in hiding, the FIS splintered into different groups.

The security forces have been accused of failing to protect villagers

Some eschewed violence and sought to have the election result confirmed by international pressure, internal industrial action and peaceful non-cooperation. But others turned to violence.

Initially Islamic militants concentrated their attacks on the security forces. But slowly, as the government met violence with repression, they also attacked politicians and pro-government journalists.

Algeria became caught in a cycle of violence, with the violence becoming increasingly random and indiscriminate.

Innocent victims

Civilians became entangled in the struggle between the Islamic rebels and the military-backed government.

Thousands have been bludgeoned, hacked, stabbed, set on fire or gunned down in a spiral of violence which has claimed between 60,000 and 80,000 lives since 1992.

Many of the massacres have been blamed by the authorities on the Armed Islamic Group, (GIA). It is the most extremist and violent of the Islamic groups operating in Algeria.

As in many civil wars fought mainly in the countryside - in Peru, El Salvador, Cambodia and Turkish Kurdistan - civilians have found themselves caught between the two sides.

The government in Algiers has offered guns and salaries to those willing to join local militias.

Those who refuse the offer are viewed with suspicion by the government and are at the mercy of the rebels.

But those who do take up arms enrage the Islamists and become priority targets.

Supporters of the Islamic rebels have denied involvement in many of the massacres and there have been dark rumours about the army's involvement.

Agent provocateurs

The theory, put forward by opponents of President Liamine Zeroual's government, is that Algerian soldiers, disguised as rebels, have been acting as agent provocateurs.

President Liamine Zeroual: Blamed the GIA for the massacres

They argue the government is prepared to sacrifice thousands of innocent villagers in order to blacken the name of the Islamist opposition and justify its own hegemony.

Confusion also surrounds the death, in 1992, of the then President Mohammed Boudiaf.

He was assassinated in the city of Annaba by an army lieutenant, Mohammed Lembarek Boumaarif. Boumaarif allegedly confessed to carrying out the killing on behalf of the Islamists.

President Boudiaf: Assassinated in 1992

But dissidents say President Boudiaf was about to trigger a major investigation into corruption within the regime and had upset senior figures in the army.

The confusion about the situation in Algeria has been worsened by attacks on journalists, both domestic and foreign.

This has forced most international news organisations - including the BBC - to withdraw from the country for security reasons.

This has made it increasingly difficult to know what is going on inside Algeria. News organisations are forced to take unconfirmed reports from Algerian newspapers at face value, even if they do with a touch of scepticism.

There are also tight controls on the reporting of army operations within Algeria. Casualties among the armed forces often go unreported, with the authorities anxious to give the impression they are winning the war against the Islamic militants.