The Wilaya of Relizane massacres of 30 December 1997 were probably the single bloodiest day of killing in the Algerian conflict of the 1990s. 78 people (initial official estimate), 252 people (according to Le Matin and El Watan, quoting hospital sources), 272 people (according to the Algerian government's statement to the UN Commission on Human Rights ( E/CN.4/2000/3/Add.1 (http://www.hri.ca/fortherecord2000/documentation/commission/e-cn4-2000-3-add1.htm)) or 412 people (according to Liberté) were killed in four villages. During the bloody Algerian civil conflict of the 1990s, a variety of massacres occurred. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Reef. ... The Thalit massacre took place in Thalit village (Médéa, near Ksar el Boukhari; see map), some 70 km from Algiers, on April 3-4 1997. ... April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). ... The Haouch Khemisti massacre took place before dawn on 22 April 1997 in the Algerian village of Haouch Mokhfi Khemisti (also spelled Boughelef Khemisti, Haouch Boughlef-Khemisti, Haouch Boukhelef-Khemisti, Haouch Boughfi el-Khemisti, Haouch Boughelaf, or Haouch Khmisti Bougara), some 25 km south of Algiers near Bougara. ... April 21 is the 111th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (112th in leap years). ... The Dairat Labguer massacre took place on June 16, 1997 - less than two weeks after parliamentary elections - in the hamlet of Dairat Labguer (also (mis)spelled Dairat Labguar, Dairat Lebguar, Daïat Labguer, Daïret Lebguer, Dairet Lebguer) near Msila, 300 km southeast of Algiers. ... June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining. ... July 27 is the 208th day (209th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 157 days remaining. ... The Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacre took place on 3 August 1997 in two villages near Arib (see map) in the wilaya of Ain Defla, Algeria. ... August 3 is the 215th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (216th in leap years), with 150 days remaining. ... The largest of the Souhane massacres took place in the small mountain town of Souhane (about 25 km south of Algiers, between Larbaa and Tablat) on the 20-21 August 1997. ... August 21 is the 233rd day of the year (234th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... The Beni-Ali massacre took place in the mountain hamlet of Beni Ali, 40 miles south of Algiers near Chrea, on 26 August 1997. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). ... On August 29, 1997, what may have been Algerias bloodiest massacre of the 1990s occurred at the village of Rais, near Larbaa and south of Algiers. ... August 29 is the 241st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (242nd in leap years), with 124 days remaining. ... The Beni-Messous massacre took place on the night of September 5, 1997, in Sidi Youssef, an outlying neighborhood of the town of Beni-Messous. ... September 6 is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years). ... The Guelb El-Kebir massacre took place in a small town near Beni Slimane (Medea, Algeria; see map) on the night of the 19-20 September 1997. ... September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). ... At the village of Bentalha, west of Algiers (Algeria), on the night of September 22-23, 1997, more than 200 villagers were killed by armed guerrillas. ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year (266th in leap years). ... The Sid El-Antri massacre took place on the night of 23- 24 December 1997 in two small villages near Tiaret, Algeria. ... December 24 is the 358th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (359th in leap years). ... December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... The Wilaya of Relizane massacres of 4 January 1998 took place in three remote villages around Oued Rhiou about 150 miles west of Algiers, during the Algerian conflict of the 1990s. ... Relizane is a wilaya of Algeria. ... An atrocity (from the Latin atrox, atrocious, from Latin ater = matte black (as distinct from niger = shiny black)) is a term used to describe crimes ranging from an act committed against a single person to one committed against a population or ethnic group. ... December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Reef. ... The United Nations Commission on Human Rights, a commission supervised by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, is composed of representatives from 53 member states, and meets each year in regular session in March/April for six weeks in Geneva. ...

In 1998, Algeria was near 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 arid, inaccessible, poor Ouarsenis Mountains about 150 miles west of Algiers had previously experienced little or no violence. In the 1997 elections, the inhabitants had mainly voted for the pro-government FLN and RND. 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Islamic Salvation Front (تحرير الجبهة الإسلامية للإنقاذ) (French: Front Islamique du Salut) is an outlawed Islamist political party in Algeria. ... For other uses, see Algiers (disambiguation). ... The National Liberation Front (French: Front de libération nationale, Arabic: Jabhah al-Taḩrīr al-Waţanī) is a socialist political party in Algeria. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

On the first day of Ramadan, at about 6:15 pm, assailants, armed with axes and knives, swept down on four farming villages in the Ammi Moussa area (see map  (http://www.fallingrain.com/world/AG/51/Ammi_Moussa.html)), and killed hundreds of people as they sat down to break their fast: Ramadan or Ramadhan (Arabic: رمضان ) is the ninth month of the Islamic year. ... English Name of unrealized Concorde successor aircraft, designed by Aerospatiale. ...

• at Kherarba or Ouled Kherarba or Khrouba or Khourba (see map  (http://www.fallingrain.com/world/AG/0/Mechta_Kherarba.html)), 21 (official) or 176 (Liberté) were killed;
• at Sahnoun or Ouled Sahnoun or Ouled Sahnine or Ouled Sahrine or Ouled Sahine (see map  (http://www.fallingrain.com/world/AG/0/Mechta_Sahnoun.html)), 29 or 113 were killed;
• at El-Abadel or Al Abadel, 73 (Liberté) were killed;
• at Ouled-Tayeb or Oulad Taieb or Ben Taïyeb or Douar Ouled Tayeb (see map  (http://www.fallingrain.com/world/AG/0/Ouled_Taieb.html)), 28 or 50 were killed.

The attackers killed families indiscriminately in their homes, men, women, children, and babies, beheading some and butchering others. They threw babies over walls, and reportedly even butchered dogs and livestock. They left only at dawn. The assailants were dressed as "Afghans". Survivors were quoted in the Algerian press as identifying the leader of the assailants as Aoued Abdallah, called "Cheikh Noureddine", a head in western Algeria of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). It was also reported that pamphlets distributed in Algiers previously had announced ""We will arrive here soon. We have breakfasted in Algiers, we will dine in Oran. Signed - GIA". The massacres were followed shortly afterwards by the Wilaya of Relizane massacres of 4 January 1998; together, these events provoked a widespread exodus from the region. The Armed Islamic Group (GIA, from French Groupe Islamique Armé) is a militant Islamist group with the declared aim of overthrowing the Algerian government and replacing it with an Islamic state. ... This article is about the city in Algeria. ... The Wilaya of Relizane massacres of 4 January 1998 took place in three remote villages around Oued Rhiou about 150 miles west of Algiers, during the Algerian conflict of the 1990s. ...

The Algerian government told the UN Commission on Human Rights ( E/CN.4/2000/3/Add.1 (http://www.hri.ca/fortherecord2000/documentation/commission/e-cn4-2000-3-add1.htm)) that "On 31 December 1997, a judicial inquiry was opened and on 8 February 1998 the examining magistrate ordered that further investigations be carried out. The legal proceedings continue." The United Nations Commission on Human Rights, a commission supervised by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, is composed of representatives from 53 member states, and meets each year in regular session in March/April for six weeks in Geneva. ...

Eyewitness accounts

Quoted by Reuters, Jan. 4 (http://www.paksearch.com/br98/Jan/4/REALTOLL.htm): Reuters is a company supplying global financial markets and news media with a range of information products and transactional solutions, including real-time and historical market data, research and analytics, financial trading platforms, investment data and analytics plus news in text, video, graphics and photographs. ...

"From just two houses I had to pull out at least 80 corpses," said one rescue worker, Hadj, quoted by the newspaper. "I leave you to imagine the extent of the catastrophe in four hamlets."

"Fifteen people of the same family had their throats cut and were then buried under the (family store of) semolina (for couscous, traditional North African food)," Liberte quoted one survivor named only as Ali, saying about the Tuesday slaughter.

Liberte quoted Taos, a girl of 16 who escaped being taken last Tuesday, saying: "I was trampled on everywhere by several individuals before being struck with an axe in my stomach."

Quoted by Hassane Zerrouky in Humanité, 5 Jan. (http://humanite.presse.fr/journal/1998-01-05/1998-01-05-406969):

Les assaillants ont été décrits vêtus à l’afghane, la tenue que porte en général les groupes du GIA. "Ma femme et mes sept enfants ont été égorgés", raconte un blessé. "L’islam n’est pas ainsi", a ajouté un autre. Le journaliste de "Liberté", qui s’est rendu sur les lieux, a ajouté que "même le bétail et les chiens ont été égorgés".

The assailants were described as dressed like Afghans, the usual costume of GIA groups. "My wife and my seven children were butchered", recounts a wounded man. "Islam is not like this," added another. The journalist of "Liberté", who went there, added that "even the livestock and dogs had been butchered."

Des rescapés, cités par la presse algérienne, ont identifié formellement Aoued Abdellah, dit Cheikh Noureddine, un chef du GIA de l’ouest algérien, comme étant celui qui dirigeait le commando de tueurs.

Some survivors, cited by the Algerian press, formally identified Aoued Abdallah, called Cheikh Noureddine, a head of the GIA of western Algeria, as the one who led the killers.

Quoted by Rachid Khiari, Associated Press: Associated Press logo The Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency that claims to be the worlds oldest and largest. ...

"We're almost done here," one gang leader was overheard saying on a walkie-talkie.

"I pulled out 50 mutilated bodies from one house and 30 from another," said Hadj Mohammed, a villager in Khourba, home to about 200 families.

"I can't get rid of the smell of blood," said one nurse, her blouse splattered with gore, before bursting into tears.

Many surviving families planned to move to the nearby port of Oran, villager Amar Meziani said. "Leaving is better than dying," Meziani said. "I'm leaving everything here, my house, my crops, what's left of my livestock. To go where? I don't know, but I can't stay here. "I'm too old to carry a weapon. I'll return when it's calm."

See also

• List of Algerian massacres of the 1990s
• Mohamed Fergane

During the bloody Algerian civil conflict of the 1990s, a variety of massacres occurred. ...

External links

• BBC  (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/despatches/43811.stm)
• L'Humanite  (http://humanite.presse.fr/journal/1998-01-05/1998-01-05-406969)
• Reuters  (http://www.paksearch.com/br98/Jan/4/REALTOLL.htm)
• LA Times quoted (http://www.pacificnet.net/jue/idontknow/religion980103.html)
• AI-Net (http://venus.soci.niu.edu/~archives/ABOLISH/rick-halperin/oct97/0271.html)
• Dagbladet.no  (http://www.dagbladet.no/nyheter/1998/01/04/49848.html)