Algerian rebels kill 13 civilians, wound 14 troops

ALGIERS, Algeria (Reuters) -- Suspected Algerian Islamic rebels killed 13 civilians on Wednesday night in fresh massacres that took this month's death toll in such killings to 44, local newspapers reported on Saturday.

The daily Liberte said six rebels armed with machine guns and axes had attacked a house where a family were celebrating the birth of a baby.

"The terrorists held the 10 family members hostage while one of the rebels took the 11-day-old baby and threw him against a wall before another bearded man killed him with an axe," Liberte said.

It said the attackers had then shot dead the rest of the family, including women and children. The massacre took place in the district of Bati, near Medea, 90 km (55 miles) south of Algiers.

The word "terrorist" is usually used by Algerian media to mean the Muslim fundamentalists who are blamed for eight years of political violence that have caused the death of more than 100,000 people, most of them civilians.

Medea province, a stronghold of the radical Islamic Armed Group (GIA), has registered a series of attacks against civilians in the past few weeks, mainly in remote areas.

Liberte said three other civilians had been killed and their car burned at a fake security road block set up by rebels in Chaabat Zitoun, near the city of Medea.

Officials were not immediately available for comment.

The Arabic-language daily El Khabar reported that 14 soldiers had been wounded on Thursday when a bomb planted by Muslim rebels in the province of Skikda, 500 km east of Algiers, blew up their truck.

Algeria has been rocked by a cycle of violence and revenge since 1992 when the army rulers cancelled a general election in which Moslem fundamentalists had taken a commanding lead.

The GIA, and notably its Daawa Wal Djihad (Appeal and Struggle) faction, have repeatedly dismissed a peace plan drawn up by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika as a sell-out and vowed to continue their struggle to overthrow the government.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

See related sites about Africa

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.