The World - News from Oct. 23, 1988

In its first announcement of casualty figures, Algeria said that 159 people were killed and 154 were wounded in riots that broke out earlier this month protesting austerity measures. Interior Minister Hadi Khediri also said the riots caused an estimated $259 million in damage. Western diplomats and hospital officials in Algiers had estimated a death toll of at least 200. The report came a day after a French television station alleged that Algerian troops “violently mistreated” hundreds of people during and after the Oct. 5-11 disturbances. In a report from Algiers, Antenne-2 television aired footage of teen-agers displaying gaping wounds they said were inflicted by Algerian troops.