Zeroual in Switzerland for checkup; Algerian voilence continues

Algerian President Liamine Zeroual arrived yesterday morning in an unexpected visit to Switzerland for a physical checkup at the advice of his doctor, no information was available about how long he will stay in Switzerland.

When Zeroual, a 56 year-old ex-general appointed as president of Algeria in 1994, arrived at the airport in Geneva, the Algerian ambassador in Switzerland, Mohammed Slah El-Semeri, received him, but the airport was not formally prepared for the president's reception. By the time the Algerian news agency broadcast the news of the president's arrival in Geneva, there was no chance for the Swiss officials to receive Zeroual with the usual ceremonies.

Algerian news reports said that Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf will travel to Geneva within the next few days in order to check on President Zeroual's health.

Attaf will also deliver a speech before the human rights committee on March 17, at the inauguration of the committee's sixth session. In his speech, Attaf is expected to review Algerian efforts to deal with violence in the state, after receiving a European Union troika delegation and a parliamentary delegation to investigate Algeria's human rights record.

Meanwhile, a statement from Algerian security sources said that four persons were attacked and killed by a terrorist group in Barakena in the state of El-Tarf, 600 kilometers east Algiers. The security forces are launching wide-ranging operation to find and arrest the attackers.

Also a terrorist group attacked 11 persons with knives and hammers in Helon's Yard, in Blida, about 40 miles west of Algiers.