Newspapers reports in Algeria have spoken of new killings in the west of the country and near the capital Algiers. So far some 800 villagers have been massacred over the past week in the latest wave of violence to hit Algeria. The authorities have said nothing about the latest violence, but they generally balme all such attacks on the groups of armed Islamic militants fighting the state. Our North Africa correspondent, Heba Saleh, looks at the background to the violence.

The conflict in Algeria started six years ago after the army interrupted elections when it became clear that an Islamist party was about to win massively. The party, the Islamic Salvation Front was subsequently outlawed, and some of its more radical supporters took up arms.

Since then Algeria has been plagued by violence which has taken different forms - assassinations, bomb attacks, and in the past year the mass killings of civilians. The first victims were members of the security forces, journalists, intellectuals and foreigners.

The army-backed authorities retaliated with massive repression, torture, kidnappings and summary executions. They also put in place a political process aimed at giving the country democratic credentials while continuing to exlude the banned Islamic Salvation Front.

The Front, however, says that an agreement with it is key to the restoration of peace. Front leaders insist that their armed wing the Islamic Salvation Army or AIS does not kill civilians, but rather it is another faction, the Armed Islamic Group or GIA which is responsible.

Very little is known about the GIA except that it espouses extremist interpretations of Islam which allow it to justify the most atrocious acts of violence. Front leaders charge that the GIA is manipulated by elements of the security forces who reject any reconciliation between it and the state - allegations which the government denies.