Violence spirals again
Posted on 05/27/2003 11:29:40 PM PDT by miltonim
Algeria Islamists kill 14 members of family
Security services say attack occurred in Chlef region known for Armed Islamic Group's activities.
ALGIERS - Fourteen members of a single family were killed in Algeria overnight by armed Islamist extremists west of the capital of Algiers, security services said Tuesday.
Two fathers, their wives and children aged 18 months to 17 years were killed in the attack in the Chlef region, 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of the capital.
It followed an attack Sunday during which eight people were killed by Islamist extremists in the same region, where militants from the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) are known to be active.
The GIA is the most brutal extremist group waging a civil war with the aim of establishing an Islamic republic in the north African country.
Along with the rival Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), it has rejected a partial amnesty offered in 1999 by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika as part of a national reconciliation program to end the violence.
The conflict has killed at least 66 people since the beginning of the month and nearly 480 since the start of the year, according to an AFP tally compiled from government figures and media reports.
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