Algerians Riot Over Killing of Popular Singer
Hundreds rioted in eastern Algeria on Friday, smashing windows and windshields in anger at the killing of a popular Berber singer who had criticized both the government and the nation’s Muslim insurgency.
The Thursday shooting of Lounes Matoub sparked an outpouring of emotion among young people in Tizi Ouzou, the regional capital of Algeria’s Berber people.
The killing also heightened opposition to a law taking effect next week that makes Arabic the sole official language of Algeria, banning the official use of French and Berber. Berbers, a Muslim people of North Africa, are struggling for government recognition of their own language.
As army troops stood by, enraged young people ran through the streets of Tizi Ouzou, about 60 miles east of Algiers, shattering glass and scrawling graffiti against President Liamine Zeroual and Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia. They also tore down signs in Arabic to protest the language law.
No arrests were reported.
A general strike in the Berber region was called for Sunday, the same day that Matoub is to be buried.
Matoub was killed at a fake roadblock at a nearby town. Witnesses said his wife and two sisters-in-law were wounded in the attack and hospitalized.
While there was no claim of responsibility, officials blamed it on the Armed Islamic Group, a militant fundamentalist organization.
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