Roguish Lawyer
01-03-2005, 17:34
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/01/03/algeria.security.reut/index.html
Top Algerian Islamic rebel arrested
Monday, January 3, 2005 Posted: 10:23 AM EST (1523 GMT)
ALGIERS, Algeria (Reuters) -- The leader of Algeria's second largest Islamic rebel group has been arrested, the Interior Ministry said on Monday, dealing a fresh blow to radical Muslim militants fighting the secular government.
The arrest of Nourredine Boudiafi, head of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), came six months after the killing of Nabil Sahraoui, head of the larger and more active Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), North Africa's top extremist group which has ties to al Qaeda.
Boudiafi was detained during an operation that started on November 5 in Bab Ezzouar, on the outskirts of Algiers, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official APS news agency. Authorities dismantled several GIA support networks near the capital.
The statement did not say exactly when Boudiafi was detained and ministry officials were not available for comment.
The GIA, which used to number thousands of fighters, was Algeria's top rebel group until a few years ago and is known for deadly attacks on security forces and civilians at the height of the Islamic insurgency in the mid-1990s.
It has been weakened by dissidence since and has not claimed responsibility for attacks in recent years.
Police chief Ali Tounsi said recently that between 300 and 500 rebels were still active in Algeria, most in GSPC ranks.
Islamic militant groups took up arms after army-backed authorities cancelled parliamentary elections a Muslim fundamentalist party was poised to win in 1992.
More than 150,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since then, according to human rights groups.
But violence has sharply declined after thousands of rebels accepted a 1999 amnesty offer. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika recently hinted he would offer another amnesty for rebels wishing to surrender.
The GIA was responsible for the hijacking of an Air France plane at Algiers airport in December 1994. French troops stormed the aircraft in Marseille, southern France, killing the four rebels and freeing the hostages.
Top Algerian Islamic rebel arrested
Monday, January 3, 2005 Posted: 10:23 AM EST (1523 GMT)
ALGIERS, Algeria (Reuters) -- The leader of Algeria's second largest Islamic rebel group has been arrested, the Interior Ministry said on Monday, dealing a fresh blow to radical Muslim militants fighting the secular government.
The arrest of Nourredine Boudiafi, head of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), came six months after the killing of Nabil Sahraoui, head of the larger and more active Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), North Africa's top extremist group which has ties to al Qaeda.
Boudiafi was detained during an operation that started on November 5 in Bab Ezzouar, on the outskirts of Algiers, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official APS news agency. Authorities dismantled several GIA support networks near the capital.
The statement did not say exactly when Boudiafi was detained and ministry officials were not available for comment.
The GIA, which used to number thousands of fighters, was Algeria's top rebel group until a few years ago and is known for deadly attacks on security forces and civilians at the height of the Islamic insurgency in the mid-1990s.
It has been weakened by dissidence since and has not claimed responsibility for attacks in recent years.
Police chief Ali Tounsi said recently that between 300 and 500 rebels were still active in Algeria, most in GSPC ranks.
Islamic militant groups took up arms after army-backed authorities cancelled parliamentary elections a Muslim fundamentalist party was poised to win in 1992.
More than 150,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since then, according to human rights groups.
But violence has sharply declined after thousands of rebels accepted a 1999 amnesty offer. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika recently hinted he would offer another amnesty for rebels wishing to surrender.
The GIA was responsible for the hijacking of an Air France plane at Algiers airport in December 1994. French troops stormed the aircraft in Marseille, southern France, killing the four rebels and freeing the hostages.