Algeria rejects "foreign interference" over killings

An Algerian government spokesman on Wednesday condemned efforts at foreign interference in his country's internal affairs over the recent wave of killings.

"The Algerian government has responded (to international reaction) and reiterated its position by saying no to interference and by defending the country's sovereignty.

Our people today are combating the phenomenon of terrorism and paying a heavy price on behalf of their country and others," government spokesman Hamraoui Habib Chawki said, in remarks broadcast by Algerian radio.

The radio said Chawki, who was speaking after a cabinet meeting at which security was a major issue, also condemned critics who tried to cast doubt on the sources of terrorism.

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.