Upsurge in Algerian rebel attacks

More than 100,000 dead, and still the killings go on

Armed Islamist groups in Algeria have stepped up their attacks, just months after a much-publicised government offensive against the militants.

Algerian newspapers say that more than 20 people were killed and 10 kidnapped in a number of attacks on Saturday and Sunday, the highest figure for several months.

The army's offensive...is now floundering in the face of handicaps like under-equipment, poor communication lines and the high cost of logistics in the hinterland

El-Khadi Ihsane

The latest wave of attacks comes a year after a peace initiative launched by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika - shortly after he was elected - which included a limited amnesty for Islamic militants who surrendered.

President Bouteflkia promised an all-out offensive against rebels who failed to give themselves up by 13 January, but correspondents say that this has proved ineffective.

Mayor among victims

Algerian newspapers say that eight young people, who had come to work on a farm, were shot dead near the town of Tipaza, 70km west of Algiers, on Saturday night. Shortly beforehand, three people had been killed at a fake roadblock nearby.

President Bouteflika: His offensive is said to have failed

The same night, three people were killed and seven kidnapped in the Tissemsilt area, more than 200km south-west of Algiers.

Several papers reported the killing of the mayor of Erraguene, 300km (200 miles) east of Algiers, and three local guards in an ambush, and a policeman was reported killed on Saturday in Boudouaou, 30km (20 miles) east of Algiers.

Since the start of the January offensive against recalcitrant Islamic militants, involving the call-up of thousands of reservists, at least 200 people a month have still been reported killed in attacks attributed to the militants.

'Failures'

A recent article by the Algiers-based journalist, El-Khadi Ihsane, on the website Algeria Interface says that the offensive is far from being the ruthless clean-up that was promised.

The government initiative "is now floundering in the face of handicaps like under-equipment, poor communication lines and the high cost of logistics in the hinterland," the article says.

The journalist says the offensive was launched against traditional guerrilla strongholds on two fronts - the mountainous areas of Warsenis in the west and Babors in the east - but army engagements with the enemy on both have been "failures".

He says that only a fraction of the families displaced by the violence there have been able to return, according to official figures, while the army has suffered set-backs in areas much closer to the capital.

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have been killed in Algeria since its civil war began in 1992.