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TITLE: Dissident Algerian Soldiers Claim 47 Officers Murdered for Views |
AUTHOR: |
PUB: AFP |
DATE: February 26, 2001 |
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A group of dissident Algerian soldiers claimed Monday that 47 Algerian officers had been killed in military barracks south of Algiers for refusing to "participate in crimes against civilians." The Algerian Movement for Free Officers (MAOL) said in a statement sent to AFP in Madrid that the officers had been killed on Sunday at the Boughar barracks, near Ksar-el-Boukhari, 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of Algiers. The group, which did not give the names or ranks of those killed, said the alleged victims had been held in underground cells at the barracks and had been due for release on March 15. The slain soldiers were "isolated in one wing of the prison, grouped together and assassinated in cold blood on February 25 by a special commando unit attached to the DRS," Algeria's intelligence and security services. The officers "lived an indescribable nightmare for several years and suffered many kinds of torture for their refusal to participate in crimes against civilians or to carry out diabolical orders," MAOL said. "This incident will not go away quietly and will take on the importance it is due in Algeria and before international bodies," the group added. Founded in 1998, the MAOL is made up of Algerian officers who accuse the Algerian high command of committing murders often attributed to armed Islamist groups. The statement came two weeks after the publication in Paris of "The Dirty War," a book written by a former Algerian army officer that accuses the army of massacring civilians. Algeria denied the allegations made in the book for the first time on Monday. Army Chief of Staff General Mohamed Lamari denounced the "frenzied media campaign, originating from abroad, that presents as 'truths' claims which combine the actions of the army and security forces with criminal acts that are comparable to those committed by terrorist groups." Last year, at least 2,700 people died despite an ambitious "civil reconciliation" program initiated by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika under which thousands of Islamic fighters laid down their arms. The Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) rejected Bouteflika's offer of amnesty, and have continued attacks against military and civilian targets. Algeria's civil war broke out in 1992 after the military stepped in to prevent the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) from winning democratic elections. The FIS remains outlawed, but its armed wing, the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS), benefitted from a blanket amnesty last year. More than 100,000 people -- civilians, rebels and security forces -- have lost their lives in the conflict. END |