UPTICK IN VIOLENCE IN ALGERIAN COUNTRYSIDE

UNCLAS ALGIERS 001184

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DS/IP/NEA; DS/ITA; NEA/MAG

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER PGOV ASEC AG
SUBJECT: UPTICK IN VIOLENCE IN ALGERIAN COUNTRYSIDE

SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) Since late April, GSPC terrorists have intensified
their attacks against both traditional military and
government targets and civilians in areas to the east and
west of Algiers. The GSPC has changed tactics and increased
the lethality of its attacks. The Algerian Army for its part
has initiated a steady wave of attacks against GSPC
strongholds in the northeast, but has purposely avoided
precipitous action to neutralize remaining terrorist elements
during the final stages of national reconciliation. While
this recent increase in terrorist activity is not unexpected
in view of the upcoming deadline for terrorists to surrender
under the terms of President Bouteflika's plan for Peace and
National Reconciliation, ordinary Algerians are concerned.
Embassy contacts report growing unease among the population
and rising concern that violence is increasing despite the
government's promises of reconciliation. In an effort to
provide increased security as well reassure the population,
authorities have reverted to security practices abandoned two
years ago, including increased usage of road blocks and
patrols in heavily traveled areas outside the capital. (End
Summary.)

ROCKET PROPELLED GRENADES USED AGAINST A MILITARY CONVOY
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2. (SBU) On the evening of June 21, a military convoy was
attacked on National Route 5 in the Kabylie mountains of the
M'chedellah region. Targeted by rocket propelled grenades
(RPG),the middle truck of the three-truck convoy was
incinerated. During the attack and ensuing fighting, seven
military personnel were killed. (Note: The preceding
casualty figure and all others in this cable come from press
reports and have not been confirmed by the Embassy.) This
attack was reminiscent of the April 7 attack on a convoy of
Customs officials in the Ghardaia region, in which RPG were
also employed. GSPC use of RPG weaponry represents an
escalation of force and probably signals the group's
determination to remind the government and public that
despite reconciliation efforts, the GSPC remains a viable
force. The current members of the GSPC are hard-core
terrorists; the odds that they will surrender and lay down
their arms under national reconciliation are remote. In
flexing its muscle now, the GSPC is mocking the very notion
of national reconciliation and utilizing the weaponry it has
at its disposal.

UPTICK IN VIOLENCE AGAINST CIVILIANS
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3. (SBU) Over the past month, attacks on civilian targets
have arguably represented the most notable departure from the
GSPC's standard terrorist tactics. They represent a
noticeable shift from the targeting of small, isolated
civilians in remote areas to bolder, daylight attacks against
solely civilian targets in either small cities (Boumerdes) or
areas which have been largely pacified for the last several
years (Blida). Two separate bomb attacks occurred near the
bus station in Boumerdes (approximately 30 miles east of
Algiers),one June 3 and the other June 20. Both attacks
occurred in heavily trafficked areas of the city during
daylight hours. On June 21, five Algerian civilians were
killed in a daylight attack in the forested mountains on a
road outside Chrea, 25 miles southeast of Algiers. On May 7,
outside Blida, which lies 30 miles directly south of the
capital, unknown assailants slit the throats of two
shepherds. (Note: In the 1990s terrorists commonly beheaded
and gutted their victims.) Ten citizens were also killed in a
false road block April 23 on a road near Skikda, 319 miles
east of Algiers near the Tunisian border.

RECENT SPIKE IN DEATHS A FAR CRY FROM THE 1990S;
POLITICAL AND CLIMATIC CONDITIONS A BIG FACTOR
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4. (SBU) The tally of total military and civilian deaths
since the beginning of June has reached 31, compared to ten
deaths in January. While this is a far cry from the numbers
of deaths seen at the height of the terrorist insurgency in
the 1990's, the numbers mark a notable upsurge in the current
political climate. Several factors contribute to this uptick.
As in 2000, when terrorist activity spiked as a deadline for
terrorists' surrender approached, under an earlier amnesty
plan, the same phenomenon is recurring as the window for
terrorists to turn themselves in closes in the coming weeks.
Aside from the political timing, the summer season itself
offers favorable conditions for attacks: dry and sunny
weather improves target visibility, while the presence of
full foliage offers the best cover for undetected attacker
movements. The increased availability and access to
agricultural goods make foraging easier and conditions more
conducive to hiding out in the mountains.

AN ATTACK ON THE ALGERIAN PSYCHE
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5. (SBU) In conversations with the RSO, the Gendarmerie
National opined that the spike in summer attacks had
psychological implications for the Algerian population. As a
precautionary measure not employed since 2004, the
Gendarmerie National has increased its patrols of beach
perimeters, and undercover civilian security elements are
visibly circulating on beaches where Algerians seek to escape
the difficulties of daily life. Increased security check
points on major roads leading to the beaches on the
northeastern coast, such as Intaya, are visibly apparent to
ordinary Algerians, and contacts increasingly tell us the
population is uneasy and concerned that the final stretch of
national reconciliation is bringing more violence than
tranquillity.

ERDMAN