Algeria: Police protest strike… The Breakthrough is when?

Soldiers are protecting the president’s office in upper Algiers from disgruntled police protestors camped out nearby in a highly unusual demonstration at violence against security forces in the South.

The police protest entered its third day Thursday. The police are angry over riots and attacks on their colleagues, and want better pay, decent housing and more political support.

About 200 police camped out near the president’s headquarters, where soldiers stood guard. A helicopter circled overhead.

The day before, police tried to force their way into the president’s office but were held back by Republican guards.

More officers also took to the streets in the cities of Khenchela, Constantine and Oran, local sources said.

But some police officers said the promises don’t go far enough, and refused to return to work.

Among their demands were better pay, better work conditions and also public housing for their families.

The protests in Algiers started on Tuesday when hundreds of officers marched through the streets in solidarity with colleagues near the southern city of Ghardaia, after police officers there were badly injured in clashes between Arabs and Mozabites.

Riots had broken out again on Monday between the two once-peaceful communities near the southern town, with two people killed, and many shops and houses set on fire. Officers in the region then staged marches to protest against difficult working conditions and having to deal with the endemic violence.

Ghardaia, about 600 km (370 miles) from Algiers, is home to both Arabs and the Mozabite community. The area has often been the scene of clashes over jobs, houses and land.

Similar violence erupted in the area last year and at least five people were killed. However, in the recent past, this region was a haven of peace and quietude and tolerance between the two communities.