There has been escalating unrest in several localities in the northeast Algerian Sahara. The oil hubs of Ouargla, Hassi Messaoud, El Menea and Touggourt have been the most affected by riots of unemployed youths for about one week. Young protesters released their anger and drew barricades on the main roads of the affected districts and towns. Violent clashes have opposed security forces to rioters, who have long decried lack of jobs and an explosive social climate.
The city of Ourgla and its surrounding regions witnessed the ransacking of public places, and angry protesters used burned tires and tree trunks to block traffic. Violence has been worsening on the daily basis as protesters complain about the social distress and the impoverishment of the population. At the end of last week, many localities and districts plunged into an atmosphere of collective psychosis. They include El Borma, Touggourt, Fan, Ngoussa, and Rouissat, which have experienced violent events organized by dozens of young people. At each riot, protesters come together and set fire to the entrances of the cities and proceed with the closure of roads to vehicular traffic.
The protests have just spread to El-Oued where demonstrators erected barricades and set tires ablaze, blocking the road to Debila municipality. The protestors are from the district of Hassani Abdelkrim, a locality hit hard by poverty and underdevelopment. This is the first time that a region in El-Oued province takes part to this kind of protest in the regions surrounding oil and gas industries.
This ongoing wave of protest originated in Ouargla and is in its eighth consecutive day of road closing, rioting, and clashes with security forces. On Wednesday, 14 July, demonstrators from the Bouameur locality in Ouargla once again cut off the road most frequently used by motorists. Sources confirmed that anger in the entire Ouargla region continues to escalate with the authorities unable to address the grievances.
Meanwhile, AFP reported that the Algerian police have arrested dozens of protestors, quoting a human rights activist as saying that “The situation is worrying, with dozens of arrests, clashes and scenes of violence.” Said Salhi, deputy head of the LADDH group, told AFP he deplored what he called the “closed door” attitude of the authorities over the recurring clashes. “What is happening is a cry for help to the authorities to open a comprehensive political dialogue with the population,” Salhi said.
