Chronology

16/1/18:

Algeria, Bouira: riots, door of admin offices attacked, injuries, following sit-in against housing policy “…dozens of protesters, from several communes of Sour El-Ghozlane, gathered in front of the headquarters of the daïra to demand the posting of the list of 350 social housing for this important daïra of the wilaya. After a sit-in of more than 45 minutes, where no noticeable incident was recorded, things escalated when protesters wanting to smash the daira’s door, forced their way into the office of the head of the daira. riots broke out. Beaten by  police batons, the demonstrators responded by throwing stones. The main artery of the city was barricaded by the rioters with tires and other motley items in flame.

 

14/1/18:

Algeria, Tizi-Ouzou: students riot after cops block march; more than 5 student departments on strike; dominant ideology tries to divide foreigners and non-student sections of the population from Tunisian students “…the final straw  of students’ anger which led students to improvise a march in the evening of last Sunday, is the fact that foreign citizens at the university have easy access to the inside of the university residential area where they engage in acts of aggression and theft against students.More here “…security within the space of the university, improved housing conditions, free access to university libraries and the introduction of campus hygiene rules in line with the academic spirit, were also among the demands…But other sources close to academia say that this event is far from conforming to the real demands of the student population. Bad living conditions of the students is claimed to be, in fact, only a pretext, the demonstration being the expression of a merciless struggle between the various bidders for obtaining the very lucrative markets that the university offers. The food supply market for university restaurants is indeed a gold mine”.

3/1/18:

Algeria, Algiers: doctors clash with cops More here “Algerian police prevented doctors from taking part in a protest outside the Mustafa Pasha Hospital in Algiers on Wednesday. The protesters’ demand include improved working conditions in the country’s hospitals and for the government to reconsider compulsory civil service….A number of protesters were injured in the scuffles and arrested.”

19/12/17:

Algeria, Bouira: barricades set up on main roads following violent cop repression of peaceful demo over banning of local language “… all the schools in the wilaya of Bouira are still paralyzed by the strike that began more than a week ago. The climate remains tense. ….In the late afternoon, young people, demanding the release of those arrested and rising against the decision of the public authorities to prohibit any march to the chief town of wilaya, proceeded to close the  highway section with the help of burnt tires, tree trunks and other odd objects. Barricades were erected in the towns of El Esnam and El Adjiba, paralyzing car traffic.”

14/12/17:

Algeria, Bouira: major motorway barricaded with burning tyres & tree trunks  No explanation for the reasons behind these protests, but I presume it’s the same as those in Kabylie on 11th December – clashes between cops & university/high school students as high school students organise strikes against the marginalisation of the local Amazighe  language

11/12/17:

Algeria, Kabylie: clashes between cops & university/high school students as high school students organise strikes against the marginalisation of the local Amazighe  languagevideo

26/11/17:

Algeria, Ouargla: youth severely injured by cops during riots against electoral fraud

2311/17:

Algeria, Tindouf: riots against phoney elections The clashes intensified when young rioters attacked the headquarters of the Tindouf administrative court. Several offices of this state structure   burned… the rioters were expressing their anger at  ballot box stuffing… Algerie Part [media outlet] is continuing its investigations to identify the precise reasons for this sudden popular anger that erupted in a region hosting many strategic military units of the Algerian army” Not sure how independent this action was, as some of it seems to be linked to some Islamist Party.

20/10/17:

Algeria, Batna: 1000s clash with state over unfair housing allocation The city of Batna experienced a climate of war during the day yesterday. The display of the list of beneficiaries of 2135 social housing units by the Batna district has set the city on fire which in less than an hour turned into a real battlefield between hundreds or even thousands of protesters and the security forces trying to protect the headquarters of the daira and other public buildings, local sources said. Protesters who blocked all arteries leading to the seat of the daïra denounce the manner in which  the list of beneficiaries of social housing was “confiscated”. They accuse the head of the daïra and the members of the commission for studying the files of applicants for housing of not being correct in the treatment of the requests. In other words, they believe that people in need have not been selected …“Angry young people have tried to close the national road to express their dissatisfaction”.  

4/10/17:

Algeria, Oum El Bouaghi: young woman killed in heavy clashes between cops & youths after 19-year-old man dies following cop torture  Algeria is still under a state of emergency, prohibiting all demonstrations

20/9/17:

Algeria, Reggane: clashes as youths protesting unemployment close job centres

15/8/17:

Algeria, Sidi Yahia: 2 trucks belonging to property developer torched after landslide kills 10-year-old following previous warnings of potential landslide

26/7/17:

Algeria, Laghouat: 2nd night of riots over housing and land allocation According to local sources, the protestors who cut  National Road No. 1 to traffic as well as the Boulevard 1iere novembre 1954 accuse the administration of favoritism and clientelism. “The protesters believe that the beneficiaries of housing and lots of land are not the real needy of the city,” says our source. Wealthy people and others who do not live at all in the town of Laghouat are included in the list, while the children of the city who live  in poverty are excluded from housing as well as land lots”

22/7/17:

Algeria, Béjaia: riot after cops stop Kabylie cultural conference

20/7/17:

Algeria, Bejaia: over 600 workers arrested as 5000 cops stop march against state energy company

5/3/17:

Algeria, Bordj Bou Arréridj: 25 cops injured as main police station is attacked following funeral of guy who died in police custody

4/1/17:

Algeria, Tazmalt: clashes with cops as demonstrators demand release of those arrested

3/1/17:

Algeria, Kabylie: Bejaia – 2nd day of uprising – roads barricaded, government buildings burnt, shops lootedpart of Directorate of National Education wrecked & burntvarious small towns, regions and communes that previously abstained from striking join  strike; major roads blocked by burning tyres, tree trunks etc.; gendarmes attacked in 3 major areasAkbou: demonstrators  set fire to  premises of the Tax Inspectorate; in Tazmalt, HQ of national insurance office, of Sonelgaz (national gas company) & sales outlet of  mobile operator Ooredoo smashed up and set fire to;  Seddouk – young demonstrators set fire to Ooredoo outletSalafists declare demonstrations, strikes etc. “Haram” – ie sinful and forbidden, whilst one of the Salafist leaders says the movement is “blasphemous” and declares  a Fatwa against the demonstrators and strikers “The strikes and demonstrations are the intrigues of unpious people who are dragging Muslims into anarchy”

2/1/17:

Algeria, Kabylie: in Bejaia, clashes, cars and fronts of buildings attacked,  as small shopkeepers and market holders go on general strike against increased taxes and state controlseveral buses burnt, roads blockednew HQ of Academy and a BNP bank wrecked and looted; burning barricades, mini-buses burnt, cop riot van overturned; transport workers belatedly join strikelocal offices of National Society of Tobacconists & Matches and electrical goods store lootedChorfa: police station stonedin Tichy, another police station stoned; in Amizour, major road barricaded; in Bouira, cops stonedSidi Aich: yet another police station stonedAin Benian: burning barricadesSuperficially, if one is dominated by outdated concepts, one could dismiss the catalyst for this as just a trivial  petit-bourgeois protest, but obviously it’s gone way beyond this. Moreover,  it should be clear that increasingly proletarians have been forced into what was traditionally petit-bourgeois work or now work  in previously obviously proletarian work now classified as “self-employed” (and thus, technically “petit-bourgeois”). Whilst this development takes different forms in different parts of the world and in different periods of time, it might be useful to look at these 2 texts, dealing in part with this in the UK, on this site: “true confessions of a market trader” & “uk fuel protests: looks as though we’ve got ourselves a convoy (2000)” [SF]

algerie-confrontation-300x163Bejaia

19/12/16:

Algeria, Bejaia: riot outside Directorate of Education (its windows broken) as 1000s of primary, middle & high school students protest reduction of winter holiday from 15 to 10 days.In addition to throwing stones, tires were burned and Molotov cocktails were used. The clashes paralysed part of the city closed to road traffic. If  calm returned in the late afternoon, tension remains alive around the Directorate of Education where high school students decided to camp”...high school students on strike in 10 schools in Boumerdès, and high school students’ demos in Constantine & AnnabaSetif: another high school demo

bejaia-19-12-16Bejaia: Directorate of Education gets breath of fresh air

29/11/16:

Algeria, Setif: rioters demanding reconnection of natural gas supply force closure of town hall

7/11/16:

Algeria, Algiers: 5 cops serious hurt in riot resisting evictions

1/10/16:

Algeria, In Guezzam: riots with burning barricades after soldier kills young man “This comes just four days after  riots were triggered in Oued Souf by citizens denouncing in particular higher electricity prices. On top of this, these people had protested against the preparation of taxes to be imposed on “high energy” air conditioners.”

22/9/16:

Algeria, Ait Naoual Mezada (north of Setif): confrontations with cops, highways blocked, in protest against place school is to be constructed

27/6/16:

Algeria, near Setif: riot over delay in social housing allocation and it being  limited arbitrarily; motoway closed “Considerable damage was caused to signage and advertising, as well as highway street lights. According to information gathered from local citizens, in addition to the delay in the distribution of such housing, officials announced that there has been change in the assigning of apartments.”

12/6/16:

Algeria (Tizi-Ouzou, Kabylia) : hundreds organize picnic in square during month of Ramadan to protest against “climate of terror against those who don’t fast” (in french). “We have to put a stop to this : they can’t force everybody to go to heaven”. Some political rackets wanting autonomy of Kabylia or the independance of this region (traditionally less religious than the arab provinces of Algeria) were present.

27/4/16:

Algeria, Tuvirett (Kabyle): peaceful student demo attacked by cops

24/4/16:

Algeria, Lesnam (Kabyle): riots after youth is hospitalised in critical condition caused by brutal cops Apparently this involves supporters of the MAK, a political party “fighting” for Kabylian autonomy, not a perspective we support at all.

algeria kabyle 24 4 16 no 2Lesnam, Kabyle, Algeria: still very far from this

23/3/16:

Algeria, Setif: main road blocked with burning tyres and rocks, clashes with cops (lots of injuries, including 1 cop hospitalised) in protest against lack of water and gas 

18/1/16

Algeria (Batna): 5th consecutive day of rioting against transfer of solar energy company to another region

4/1/16:

Algeria, Hazoua: unemployed youths close the border with Algeria in movement against unemployment, demanding redistribution of agricultural land

8/4/15:

Algeria, Kais: stones v tear gas, as those excluded from housing list blockade main road

19/3/15:

Algeria, Azazga: climate of war as mayor is imposed on town by the central states’s riot cops

1/3/15:

Algeria, Salah: shale gas riots – local administration building set alight (in French)…40 cops injured (in English) “Protesters set fire to the headquarters of In-Salah district and the residence of the district chief, as well as part of a police dormitory and a police truck.”Tamanrasset: anti-shale gas riots spread (in English)

28/2/15:

Algeria, Salah: riots against shale gas/fracking (video here and here)

28/1/15:

Algeria, Laghouat: 2nd night of clashes between cops and mainly unemployed youths, with cops firing tear gas and rubber bullets (this, in an area of very highly carcenogenic chemicals; see here )

14/1/15:

Algeria, Mostaganem: daïra of Sidi Lakhdar burned and ransacked on 4th day of “uprising” “… clashes between demonstrators and the police  resulted in 10 injured, including three in serious condition, 25 arrests and the ransacking of the headquarters of Daira and the adjoining housing function, as well as the destruction of furniture and documents and other computer equipment. On the fourth day of the uprising of the people of Sidi Lakhdar, the event that was meant to be peaceful degenerated into clashes between protesters and security forces. According to corroborating testimonies, long before sunrise, members of the riot squad intervened to dislodge the people camped outside the gates of the daïra….shortly before noon, when the fighting reached its peak, ten were reported injured, including three seriously. Parents report … a young demonstrator…had to have his leg amputated. According to several witnesses, he was crushed by a vehicle of the security forces. While thousands of protesters of all ages continued to flock to the site of clashes, police managed to arrest 25 demonstrators….The headquarters of the daïra facing the police station was soon taken over by the demonstrators, who burnt two cars, and unceremoniously sacked the administrative offices. Another group then attacked the head of daïra housing who miraculously managed to evacuate his family. The latter had remained locked in during the first three days of rioting….On the main street that leads to the Daira, the protesters decided to ostentatiously sit a few meters from the riot squads. Others have settled on waiting room chairs taken onto, and blocking, the street. The night promises to not bode well. …All speak of provocation on the part of law enforcement. All maintain their main demand is the departure of head of daïra and the establishment of a ministerial inquiry. On the way back, we passed no fewer than 12 riot squad vehicles who have  returned from Sidi Bel Abbes to lend a hand to those already there. The night could be very agitated in this charming seaside city, whose streets are littered with cobbles and stones brought by tractors from the countryside” [SamFanto note: I’m having internet problems; when they’re sorted I’ll be able to do a bit of research into exactly what this uprising is about.]

4/1/15:

Algeria: movement against shale gas spreads to 3 towns

21/12/14:

Algeria, Baraki: very heavy clashes with cops as mass eviction from and demolition of old part of town begins 

14/12/14:

Algeria, Tebesbest: town hall partially burnt in furious confrontation over land distribution “Administrative documents and equipment were destroyed in the fire…It all started on Saturday night when the worst off people got wind of the list of beneficiaries of plots of land allocated by the municipality as social aid. … the angry protesters barricaded the road with tires that they set alight. The intervention of the police  turned to confrontation. Clashes that lasted all night, increased in the day with the burning of the town hall….protesters put forward social demands related to drinking water supply and allocation of land…These incidents happened ten days after the deadly riots that occurred in the town of Nezla in the same daïra of Touggourt, and for the same reasons, riots that resulted in thirty dead and as many wounded. “

30/11/14:
 28/11/14:

Algeria, Touggourt:  2 killed as demonstrators storm police station “The violence erupted after residents protested against the delay by the authorities “in allocating  land plots, construction and connection to drinking water”…protesters blocked a main road leading to the huge  Hassi Messaoud oil field nearby. The security forces intervened with tear gas and batons to disperse the protesters, who   then headed towards the police station, trying to seize it. It was at this point that the two protesters died…”

20/10/14:

Algeria, Algiers: 100 or so rioters block tunnel in protest against housing allocation policies

14/10/14:

Algeria, Oued el mar: riots over last 2 days because of long delays in installation of gas and electricity; HQ of the local municipal council stormed

27/9/14:

Algeria, Chlef: gendarmes clash with players and supporters after they go onto pitch at amateur football match 

Algeria gendarmes attacked football

15/8/14:

Algeria, Algiers: riot over housing, rocks flying

28/6/14:

Algeria, Biskra: residents block main intersection in protest against lack of water supply

8/6/14:

Algeria: clashes with cops over housing problems spread to different areas “Clashes broke out Sunday afternoon in Laghouat, when dozens of young people, having previously taken part in  a sit-in in front of the daïra to raise claims related to housing, improvised a march to the headquarters of the province and demanded to meet the leaders of the administration. The situation escalated into clashes with police that have spread to other areas, including that of Esseddiqya. This protest resulted in a dozen policemen being injured before calm returned in the late afternoon.”

17/4/14:

Algeria, Kabylie:  youths attack election con and demockracy’s cops “…groups of youths seeking to disrupt voting in the Bouria region, southeast of Algiers, ransacked polling stations in three localities shortly after they opened at 0700 GMT, with the police firing to disperse them….Forty-one people were injured in the unrest, including 28 policemen”Video here: “We’re not supporting anyone, we’re not with either candidate.We’re fed up with Power. We’re fed up with this system. We’re fed up with everything in Algeria.” (more here and here in French…less than 17% turnout in most areas of Kabylie)

5/4/14:

Algeria, Kabylie: violent  clashes with cops over election cons

18/3/14:

Algeria: student movement in Berber area block roads with burning tyres

4/9/13:

Algeria: clashes between protesters and cops as demo against water shortages surround town hall