French radio reported on Tuesday that a "mass exodus" was taking place in the mountains of western Algeria, following killings in the region.

Radio France Internationale broadcast a despatch from one of its correspondents in Algeria which spoke of hundreds of people leaving villages throughout the region, not just those targetted in recent attacks.

A victim of the recent attacks

"There were lorries, tractors with trailers and all sorts of vehicles being loaded with anything the residents could pack," the report said.

"These people are fleeing this region."

The correspondent said they were going to nearby towns or further, to Relizane, El Asnam or Oran.

"Hundreds of people were fleeing all the villages of the region. For instance, all the residents of three hamlets were killed. These three were part of a commune made up of 15 hamlets. Apart from a few people, all the residents of these hamlets have left," the report said.

"People are very scared."

BBC Monitoring (http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk), based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.
 

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