Army troops sent to troubled Ghardaia province, firearms found there

Forces of the National Popular Army (ANP) have been rushed to the troubled southern province of Ghardaia in a bid to stem the unabated spiral of ethnic violence which has been wracking the region for several months now despite the calls for reason and understanding launched by the elders and notables from the two rival communities.

The ANP troops will beef up the already-present police force in the endeavour to halt the runaway acts of sectarian violence which has wreaked havoc in most parts of Ghardaia city and nearby towns.

 The ANP troops’ intervention is also designed to smother the current unrest in order to allow the eligible voters settled in the province to cast their ballots during the upcoming presidential elections slated for Thursday April 17^th 2014.

Around a dozen people, including two policemen, were wounded in fresh clashes between Arabs and Berbers near the southern town of Ghardaia, a medical source said.

The unrest erupted after the main Friday prayers outside a mosque in Berriane, 45 kilometres (28 miles) north of Ghardaia, local media outlets quoted the source as saying.

The two rival sides threw Molotov cocktails and rocks at one another and caused a major backup on a key highway linking the country’s north and south before police forces dispersed them with tear gas, the source added.

Some businesses and homes in the troubled area were looted and ransacked.

Ghardaia has been the scene of sectarian  violence that has killed seven people and wounded more than 400 others since December when fighting erupted between Berbers, known as Mozabites, and Arabs, known as Chaambas.

Hundreds of houses and shops in the embattled town, which is a UNESCO heritage site, have also been burned down in the long-running unrest.

The two communities have lived together in peace for centuries, but tensions between them have risen sharply since troublemakers destroyed a historic Berber shrine in late December.

Videos shown to visiting journalists in January have been circulating on the Internet showing youths vandalizing their rivals’ property and smashing up the tomb of Amir Moussa, a 16th century Berber leader, and desecrating the ancient cemetery in Ghardaia, as police looked on.

On Tuesday, 35 people, including 17 policemen, were wounded in renewed inter-community clashes. Security forces have meanwhile conducted searches in various parts of the strife-torn city and discovered some firearms which have been used by rioting mobsters from the two sides.