Algeria rejects abrogation of emergency, Three Islamists killed

The Algerian government yesterday defended the state of emergency active in the country since 12 years and stressed it will not lift it despite international pressures, justifying that Algeria is fighting what it called Islamic extremism.

The state run al-Mijahid paper quoted the minister of the interior, Nour Eddine Zarhouni, as saying that the state of emergency did not restrict individual or political freedoms and considered that its main role is coordination among the various forces taking part in fighting terrorism.

Algeria had announced the state of emergency in February 1992 following the authorities, supported by the government, abrogation of legislative elections which the banned Islamic Salvation Front was about to win.

Algeria refused increasing demands from the opposition parties, the American administration and human rights groups to abrogate emergency rule which they said restricts the political activity during the phase preceding the presidential elections which will be held on April 8th this year.

On the other hand, Zarhouni considered that the Algerian security forces killed on Saturday three members of "al-Salafeyah group for call and fighting" to the south of the capital Algiers. He explained in a statement quoted by the Algerian news agency on Sunday that three were killed to the south if Ibn Salah ( 1500 Km to the south of the capital ) in the Algerian desert. Government forces killed in the same area some 10 members of this group by the end of January after they had sneaked to it from neighboring Mali, according to security sources.