Algeria Releases 300 People

25/03/2001| IslamWeb

         [Berber youth clash with riot police
          in Algiers, June, 14, 2001. Read
          photo caption below.]

Algeria Releases 300 People

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) - Authorities released 300 people detained during a massive pro-democracy demonstration in Algiers, but unrest continued Saturday in the North African nation's ethnic Berber region.

Clashes between security forces and demonstrators were reported in Tizi Ouzou, the capital of the mostly Berber region of Kabyle, after the burial of a young man who died Thursday during the sometimes violent rally in Algiers.

There were no reports of arrests or injuries in Tizi Ouzou, 60 miles east of Algiers. The official APS news agency reported unrest in two other cities further east.

Thursday's rally in Algiers, which drew a million people, followed weeks of riots in the Berber region that left at least 52 people dead. Demonstrators demanded justice and more freedom from the military-backed government.

Algerian authorities said four people were killed during the demonstration when they were hit by a bus. They said 365 people were injured, including 36 police officers.

Algerian Interior Minister Nourredine Yazid Zerhouni said the 300 people detained Thursday were released ``in the interest of calming things down.''

He said all those who were detained were carrying weapons or were suspected of vandalism.

Berbers, who claim to be the original inhabitants of North Africa, have had tense relations with Algerian governments for decades as they press their demand for official recognition of their language, Tamazight.

The recent unrest is not directly related to an Islamic insurgency that has led to 100,000 deaths in Algeria since 1992.

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PHOTO CAPTION

A youth from Algeria's Berber-speaking Kabylie region runs from tear gas in May 1st Place during clashes with riot police, in Algiers June 14, 2001. Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Algiers for an anti-government march against a bloody police crackdown of riots in Kabylie in the past two months. (Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)
- Jun 15 1:41 PM ET
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