Rais massacre

Rais massacre

The Rais massacre, of August 29, 1997, was one of Algeria's bloodiest massacres of the 1990s. It took place at the village of Rais, near Larbaa and south of Algiers. The initial official death toll was 98 people killed and 120 wounded; CNN said that hospital workers and witnesses gave a toll of at least 200, and up to 400. The figure given by the Algerian government to the UN Commission on Human Rights ( [http://www.hri.ca/fortherecord2000/documentation/commission/e-cn4-2000-3-add1.htm E/CN.4/2000/3/Add.1] ) was 238. The BBC later quoted the figure of 800 killed [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4297888.stm] .

In 1997, Algeria was at the peak of a brutal civil conflict that had begun after the military's cancellation of 1992 elections set to be won by the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS). The poor farming village of Rais (see [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/AG/0/Haouch_Reis.html map] ) had mostly voted for FIS and had a history of supporting Islamist guerrillas in the region, but (according to a villager quoted by PBS) had recently stopped providing them with food and money.

The hooded attackers arrived about 1 am in trucks and cars, armed with shotguns, knives, axes, and bombs. They continued killing the village's men, women, children, and even animals until dawn (about 6 am), cutting throats and taking the time to burn corpses; young women, however, were abducted instead of being killed. In some cases, they left severed heads on doorsteps. They mutilated and stole from the dead, and committed atrocities against pregnant women. They burned and bombed some houses. The villagers tried to flee or hide. Army units stayed outside the village, shooting at fleeing villagers, but not attempting to enter the village until after the attackers, carrying away some 20 young women, left at dawn.

Responsibility was claimed for this, as for the Bentalha massacre, by the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). In "An Inquiry into the Algerian Massacres" (a book arguing that the GIA had become a tool of the state) two survivors are quoted as reporting that the killers were dressed like "Afghans", with turbans, covered faces, beards (some false), and uniforms, that the attackers were also cursing God throughout, and that among them were a few women, wearing hijab over a uniform. These accounts (which can be read below) appear not to be corroborated by major media outlets.

The government vowed to "continue to struggle without mercy against the barbarous criminals until their eradication", announcing a massive manhunt and new measures to reinforce rural security. Amnesty International expressed concern regarding the government response, noting that "the massacre site is surrounded by army barracks and security forces posts, located between a few hundreds metres and a few kilometers away", including an army barracks 100 metres away, and quoting a survivor as saying "The army and the security forces were right there; they heard and saw everything and did nothing, and they let the terrorists leave." The Prime Minister, Ahmed Ouyahia, retorted to ITN that "the army, the national guard intervened, intervened as quickly as it was possible." The authorities cited concern regarding the possible presence of mines and ambushes; however, a rescue worker interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that the first gendarmes there had not taken any precautions against possible mines as they drove in.

The Algerian government told the UN Commission on Human Rights ( [http://www.hri.ca/fortherecord2000/documentation/commission/e-cn4-2000-3-add1.htm E/CN.4/2000/3/Add.1] ) that "A judicial inquiry was opened by the Larbâa court and the four perpetrators of the massacre identified. Search warrants were issued by the examining magistrate on 30 May 1998." How four attackers could have killed 238 people is not made clear.

The village's population had already dropped from 1000 before the conflict began to 200 after the massacre; many of the remainder left following this massacre. Some of those who remained were given arms by the government for future self-defense, according to "La Tribune", which quotes residents opposing Abdelaziz Bouteflika's amnesty to certain members of the armed groups (the Law of National Reconciliation), fearing that it would include murderers like those who killed their neighbors.

ee also

* List of Algerian massacres of the 1990s

External links

* [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9708/29/algeria.new/ CNN]
* [http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/08-97/08-30-97/a03wn016.htm AP]
* [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/massacre.htm NYT]
* [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/africa/july-dec97/algeria_10-21.html PBS NewsHour]
* [http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE280361997?open&of=ENG-313 Amnesty International]
* [http://iupjournals.org/ral/ral30-3.html Rais, Bentalha - one year later] - a poem by Assia Djebar
* [http://www.ifrc.org/fr/meetings/regional/africa/6thpac/docs/enfance%20bless%E9e.lwp Surviving children's response] - Algerian Red Crescent
* [http://www.algerie-tpp.org/tpp/pdf/dossier_2_massacres.pdf 2 eyewitness accounts according to the LADDH]
* [http://www.algeria-watch.de/fr/article/pol/amnistie/rais_refuse.htm La Tribune]
* [http://www.hrw.org/reports98/algeria/ALGER988-02.htm Human Rights Watch]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/focus/9801gun.htm BBC]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/4297888.stm BBC - 8 years on]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Massacre Des Habitants De Limoges Par Le Prince Noir — Avertissement : ceci est la version traditionnelle du sac de Limoges par le Prince Noir. Pour lire la version plus sérieuse et précise basée sur les travaux des historiens voir sac de Limoges. Après la prise de la ville de Limoges le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Massacre des habitants de Limoges par Prince Noir — Massacre des habitants de Limoges par le Prince Noir Avertissement : ceci est la version traditionnelle du sac de Limoges par le Prince Noir. Pour lire la version plus sérieuse et précise basée sur les travaux des historiens voir sac de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Massacre des habitants de limoges par le prince noir — Avertissement : ceci est la version traditionnelle du sac de Limoges par le Prince Noir. Pour lire la version plus sérieuse et précise basée sur les travaux des historiens voir sac de Limoges. Après la prise de la ville de Limoges le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Massacre de Beni Ali — Le massacre de Beni Ali a eu lieu dans le hameau de montagne de Beni Ali, à 40 Kilomètres au sud d Alger près de Chréa, le 26 août 1997. 64 (selon le New York Times et CNN) ou 100 personnes (selon Amnesty International) ont été tués. Juste trois… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Massacre des habitants de Limoges par le Prince Noir — Avertissement : ceci est la version traditionnelle du sac de Limoges par le Prince Noir. Pour lire la version plus sérieuse et précise basée sur les travaux des historiens voir sac de Limoges. Après la prise de la ville de Limoges le… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Bentalha massacre — At the village of Bentalha, about 15 km south of Algiers, on the night of September 22 23, 1997, more than 200 villagers (according to Amnesty International) were killed by armed guerrillas. The number of deaths reported ranged from 85 (initial… …   Wikipedia

  • Dairat Labguer massacre — Algerian massacres in 1997 Massacres in which over 50 people were killed: Thalit massacre 3 4 April Haouch Khemisti massacre 21 April Dairat Labguer massacre 16 June …   Wikipedia

  • Omaria massacre — Algerian massacres in 1997 Massacres in which over 50 people were killed: Thalit massacre 3 4 April Haouch Khemisti massacre 21 April Dairat Labguer massacre 16 June Si Zerrouk …   Wikipedia

  • Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacre — Algerian massacres in 1997 Massacres in which over 50 people were killed: Thalit massacre 3 4 April Haouch Khemisti massacre 21 April Dairat Labguer massacre 16 June Si Zerrouk …   Wikipedia

  • Beni-Ali massacre — The Beni Ali massacre took place in the mountain hamlet of Beni Ali, 40 miles south of Algiers near Chrea, on 26 August 1997. 64 (according to the New York Times and CNN) or 100 people (according to Amnesty International) were killed. Just three… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”