Algerian Civil War

Not to be confused with Algerian War.

Algerian Civil War
الحرب الأهلية الجزائرية

Algerian military deployed in the streets of Algiers after the military coup against the Islamists, 12 January 1992
Date11 January 1992 – 8 February 2002[10]
(10 years and 4 weeks)
Location
Algeria, Spillover to France with Air France Flight 8969, 1995 France bombings and 1998 World Cup terror plot[11]
Result

Algerian government victory

Belligerents
 Government of Algeria
Minor involvement:
 Egypt[1][2]
 Tunisia[1][2]
 France[2][3]
 European Union[3]
 South Africa[4]
 United States[5]		 Islamic Salvation Front loyalists
Minor involvement:
Libya Libya (until 1995)[2]
 Saudi Arabia (pre-war)[3]
 Iran (alleged)[3]
Saudi private donors[3]

Armed Islamic Group (from 1993)
Minor involvement:
 Sudan (alleged)[6][7][8]
 Iran (alleged)[6][7][8]
Egyptian Islamic Jihad (until 1995)[9]

Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (from 1998)
Minor involvement:
Al-Qaeda[6]
Commanders and leaders
Algeria Mohamed Boudiaf  X
Algeria Ali Kafi
Algeria Liamine Zéroual
Algeria Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Algeria Mohamed Lamari
(Chief of Staff)
Algeria Mohamed Mediène
(Head of DRS)		 Abassi Madani (POW)
Ali Belhadj (POW)
Abdelkader Hachani (POW) †
Anwar Haddam
Abdelkader Chebouti
Madani Mezrag
Mustapha Kartali
Ali Benhadjar

Abdelhak Layada (POW)
Djafar al-Afghani †
Cherif Gousmi †
Djamel Zitouni †
Antar Zouabri †

Hassan Hattab
Units involved

Armed Forces
police
Gendarmerie
State Security
Local militias[12]

Islamic Salvation Army (1994–99)
Islamic Armed Movement (until 1994)
Movement for an Islamic State (until 1994)
Islamic Front for Armed Jihad (until 1996)
Islamic Movement for Preaching and Jihad (1996–97)
Islamic League for Da'wa and Jihad (1997)		 Armed Islamic Group of Algeria
Afghan Arabs
Takfir wal-Hijra
Strength
140,000 (1994)[13]
124,000 (in 2001)
100,000–300,000 local militia fighters[12]		 2,000 (1992)
40,000 (1994)
10,000 (1996)[14]		 Unknown
Political support
FLN
RND
RCD
FFS
UGTA
MSI/Hamas
MRI/Nahda
Casualties and losses
~150,000 total deaths[15]

The Algerian Civil War (Arabic: الحرب الأهلية الجزائرية), known in Algeria as the Black Decade (Arabic: العشرية السوداء, French: La décennie noire),[16] was a civil war fought between the Algerian government and various Islamist rebel groups from 11 January 1992 (following a coup negating an Islamist electoral victory) to 8 February 2002. The war began slowly, as it initially appeared the government had successfully crushed the Islamist movement, but armed groups emerged to declare jihad and by 1994, violence had reached such a level that it appeared the government might not be able to withstand it.[17] By 1996–97, it had become clear that the Islamist resistance had lost its popular support, although fighting continued for several years after.[17]

The war has been referred to as 'the dirty war' (la sale guerre),[18] and saw extreme violence and brutality used against civilians.[19][20] Islamists targeted journalists, over 70 of whom were killed, and foreigners, over 100 of whom were killed,[21] although it is thought by many that security forces as well as Islamists were involved, as the government had infiltrated the insurgents.[22] Children were widely used, particularly by the rebel groups.[23] Total fatalities have been estimated at 44,000[24] to between 100,000 and 200,000.[25]

The conflict began in January 1992, when the new and enormously popular Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) party appeared poised to defeat the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) party in the national parliamentary elections in December 1991. The elections were canceled after the first round and the military effectively took control of the government, forcing pro-reform president Chadli Bendjedid from office. After the FIS was banned and thousands of its members arrested, Islamist guerrillas rapidly emerged and began an armed campaign against the government and its supporters.

They formed themselves into various armed groups, principally the Islamic Armed Movement (MIA), based primarily in the mountains, and the more hard-line Armed Islamic Group (GIA), based primarily in the towns. The GIA motto was "no agreement, no truce, no dialogue" and it declared war on the FIS in 1994 after the latter had made progress in negotiations with the government. The MIA and various smaller insurgent bands regrouped, becoming the FIS-loyalist Islamic Salvation Army (AIS).

After talks collapsed, elections were held in 1995 and won by the army's candidate, General Liamine Zéroual. The GIA fought the government, as well as the AIS, and began a series of massacres targeting entire neighborhoods or villages which peaked in 1997. The massacre policy caused desertion and splits in the GIA, while the AIS, under attack from both sides, declared a unilateral ceasefire with the government in 1997. In the meantime, the 1997 parliamentary elections were won by a newly created pro-Army party supporting the president.

In 1999, following the election of Abdelaziz Bouteflika as president, violence declined as large numbers of insurgents "repented", taking advantage of a new amnesty law. The remnants of the GIA proper were hunted down over the next two years, and had practically disappeared by 2002, with the exception of a splinter group called the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC),[Note 1] which announced its support for Al-Qaeda in October 2003 and continued fighting an insurgency that would eventually spread to other countries in the region.[27][28]

  1. ^ a b Rex Brynen; Bahgat Korany; Paul Noble (1995). Political Liberalization and Democratization in the Arab World. Vol. 1. Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 289. ISBN 978-1-55587-579-4.
  2. ^ a b c d Sidaoui, Riadh (2009). "Islamic Politics and the Military: Algeria 1962–2008". In Lane, Jan-Erik; Redissi, Hamadi; Ṣaydāwī, Riyāḍ (eds.). Religion and Politics: Islam and Muslim Civilization. Ashgate. pp. 241–243. ISBN 978-0-7546-7418-4.
  3. ^ a b c d e Karl DeRouen Jr.; Uk Heo (2007). Civil Wars of the World: Major Conflicts Since World War II. ABC-CLIO. pp. 115–117. ISBN 978-1-85109-919-1.
  4. ^ Arms trade in practice, Hrw.org, October 2000
  5. ^ "US military aid for Algeria". 10 December 2002.
  6. ^ a b c Mannes, Aaron (2004). Profiles in Terror: The Guide to Middle East Terrorist Organizations. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-7425-3525-1.
  7. ^ a b Cordesman, Anthony H. (2002). A Tragedy of Arms: Military and Security Developments in the Maghreb. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-275-96936-3.
  8. ^ a b Brosché, Johan; Höglund, Kristine (2015). "The diversity of peace and war in Africa". Armaments, Disarmament and International Security. Oxford University Press. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-19-873781-0.
  9. ^ Tabarani, Gabriel G. (2011). Jihad's New Heartlands: Why The West Has Failed To Contain Islamic Fundamentalism. AuthorHouse. p. 329. ISBN 978-1-4678-9180-6.
  10. ^ Boot, Max (2013). "Appendix". Invisible Armies.
  11. ^ Harmon, Stephen A. (2014). Terror and Insurgency in the Sahara-Sahel Region: Corruption, Contraband, Jihad and the Mali War of 2012–2013. Ashgate. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-4094-5475-5.
  12. ^ a b Paul Collier; Nicholas Sambanis (2005). Understanding Civil War: Africa. World Bank Publications. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-8213-6047-7.
  13. ^ Martinez, Algerian Civil War, 1998: p.162
  14. ^ Martinez, Algerian Civil War, 1998: p.215
  15. ^ Hagelstein, Roman (2007). "Where and When does Violence Pay Off? The Algerian Civil War". HICN. Households in Conflict Network: 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference black decade was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ a b Kepel, Jihad, 2002: p.255
  18. ^ Prince, Rob (16 October 2012). "Algerians Shed Few Tears for Deceased President Chadli Bendjedid". Foreign Policy in Focus. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  19. ^ Cavatorta, Francesco (2008). "Alternative Lessons from the 'Algerian Scenario'". Perspectives on Terrorism. 2 (1). Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  20. ^ Kepel, Jihad, 2002: p.254
  21. ^ Whitney, Craig R. (24 May 1996). "7 French Monks Reported Killed By Islamic Militants in Algeria". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  22. ^ Entre menace, censure et liberté: La presse privé algérienne se bat pour survivre, 31 March 1998
  23. ^ Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers (2001). "Global Report on Child Soldiers". child-soldiers.org. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2008Study was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Ajami, Fouad (27 January 2010). "The Furrows of Algeria". New Republic. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  26. ^ Hugh Roberts, The Battlefield Algeria, 1988–2002: Studies in a Broken Polity, Verso: London 2003, p. 269
  27. ^ Whitlock, Craig (5 October 2006). "Al-Qaeda's Far-Reaching New Partner". The Washington Post. p. A01.
  28. ^ "Algerian group backs al-Qaeda". BBC News. 23 October 2003. Retrieved 7 November 2008.


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