Wilaya of Relizane massacres of 30 December 1997

(Redirected from Wilaya of Relizane massacres of December 30, 1997) 1997 mass killings during the Algerian Civil War Not to be confused with Wilaya of Relizane massacres of 4 January 1998.

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1997 Relizane massacres
Part of Algerian Civil War
Location	Relizane, Algeria
Date	30 December 1997
Deaths	272 to 412 villagers

v t e Algerian Civil War
Beginning of war 1991–1994 1990 Algerian local elections Guemmar 1991 legislative elections 1992 coup Assassination of Mohamed Boudiaf Algiers Blida Assassinations of journalists Escalation 1994–1996 Tazoult Tenes Ain Allah Berrouaghia Air France Flight 8969 Algiers Sundus Serkadji Ain Defla Ghardaïa France Massacres and reconciliation 1996–1999 Algiers Tibhirine Tamesguida Thalit Haouch Khemisti Omaria Chouardia 1997 legislative elections M'sila Si Zerrouk Oued El-Had and Mezouara Souhane Beni Ali massacre Rais Beni Messous Guelb El-Kebir Bentalha Sidi Daoud Sid El-Antri 1st Relizane 2nd Relizane Sidi-Hamed Oued Bouaicha Tadjena Defeat of the GIA 1999–2002 1999 presidential election Beni Ounif 1999 Algerian Civil Concord referendum Assassination of Abdelkader Hachani Killing of Antar Zouabri Sahara Sétif

Algerian Civil War

Beginning of war 1991–1994

Escalation 1994–1996

Massacres and reconciliation 1996–1999

Defeat of the GIA 1999–2002

Algerian massacres in 1997

Massacres in which over 50 people were killed:

Thalit massacre	3–4 April
Haouch Khemisti massacre	21 April
Daïat Labguer (M'sila) Massacre	16 June
Si-Zerrouk massacre	27 July
Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacre	3 August
Souhane massacre	20–21 August
Beni-Ali massacre	26 August
Rais massacre	29 August
Beni-Messous massacre	5–6 September
Guelb El-Kebir massacre	19 September
Bentalha massacre	22 September
Sid El-Antri massacre	23–24 December
Wilaya of Relizane massacres	30 December

1998 →

The Wilaya of Relizane massacres of 30 December 1997 were probably the single bloodiest day of killing in the Algerian Civil War of the 1990s. Many residents of four villages were killed; the exact number of casualties has varied according to sources.

Background

In 1998, Algeria was near the peak of a brutal civil war, which had begun after the military's cancellation of 1992 elections, which were about to be won by the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS). The arid, inaccessible, poor Ouarsenis Mountains, about 150 miles west of Algiers, had experienced little or no violence. In the 1997 elections, most inhabitants had voted for the pro-government FLN and RND.

On the first day of Ramadan, at about 6:15 pm, assailants, armed with axes and knives, swept down on four farming villages in the Ammi Moussa area, and killed hundreds of people as they sat down to break their fast:

at Kherarba, or Ouled Kherarba, Khrouba or Khourba, 21 (officially) or 176 (Liberté) were killed;
at Sahnoun, or Ouled Sahnoun, Ouled Sahnine, Ouled Sahrine or Ouled Sahnine, 29 or 113 were killed;
at El-Abadel, or Al Abadel, 73 (Liberté), were killed;
at Ouled-Tayeb, or Oulad Taieb, Ben Taïyeb or Douar Ouled Tayeb, 28 or 50 were killed.

The attackers killed families indiscriminately, including men, women, children and babies, in their homes; beheaded some; and butchered others. They threw babies over walls, reportedly even butchered dogs and livestock and left only at dawn. The assailants were dressed as "Afghans". Survivors were quoted in the Algerian press as identifying the leader of the assailants as Aoued Abdallah, called "Cheikh Noureddine", a western Algeria head of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). Pamphlets were reportedly distributed in Algiers that announced, "We will arrive here soon. We have breakfasted in Algiers, we will dine in Oran. Signed - GIA". The massacres were followed shortly afterwards by the Wilaya of Relizane massacres of 4 January 1998; together, the events provoked a widespread exodus from the region.

The Algerian government told the UN Commission on Human Rights,(E/CN.4/2000/3/Add.1) Archived 2001-07-21 at the Wayback Machine "On 31 December 1997, a judicial inquiry was opened and on 8 February 1998 the examining magistrate ordered that further investigations be carried out. The legal proceedings continue".

Reports of casualties

As a result of the massacre, 78 people (the initial official estimate), 252 people (according to Le Matin and El Watan, quoting hospital sources), 272 people (according to the Algerian government's statement to the UN Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2000/3/Add.1 Archived 2001-04-20 at the Wayback Machine) or 412 people (according to Liberté) were killed in four villages.

External links

BBC
L'Humanite
Reuters
LA Times quoted
AI-Net
Dagbladet.no

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