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Egypt/North Africa
Algeria has been seized by a wave of violence since December 1991, which achieved, between 1992 and 1998, the status of virtual civil war - pitching the military-backed regime against a complex, clandestine opposition derived from the country's banned Islamist movement, the Front Islamique du Salut (FIS). Official figures put the number of people killed during this period at 100,000 - or 1,200 deaths a month.
In April 1999, a page was turned with the election of Abdelaziz Bouteflika as president. Hopes rose and violence receded as the new president introduced a limited amnesty for perpetrators and promised further fundamental reforms designed to bring the country's turmoil to an end.
Today, however, those hopes have been largely dashed. Violence is once again on the rise and there is a growing sense of dissatisfaction with the president's performance among members of the Algerian elite and the Algerian military. Algeria's crisis is far from over - and the issues that lie at its heart have not been addressed.
ICG's Algeria reports seek to disentangle and highlight the root causes of the conflict, and advocate practical policy solutions. Key issues include the need to fundamentally restructure and re-legitimise the Algerian state, open up the country's political process, bring the Islamists into the formal political arena and tackle the army's role in politics.
ICG also monitors developments in Egypt and then other countries of North Africa.
| Recent reports & briefings |
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 | The Challenge of Political Reform:
Egypt After the Iraq War,
briefing, 30 September 2003 |
| Algeria: Unrest and Impasse in Kabylia,
Middle Esat North Africa N°15, 10 June 2003 |
| Diminishing Returns: Algeria’s 2002 Legislative Elections,
briefing, 24 June 2002 |
| Algeria's Economy: The Vicious Circle of Oil and Violence,
report, 26 October 2001 |
| The Algerian Crisis: Not Over Yet,
report, 20 October 2000 |
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