Algerian rebels kill 72 civilians

The killing has not been confirmed by Algerian authorities but brings the number of villagers reported to have been slaughtered in the past six days to at least 170.

According to news reports, more than 20 children have died in the attacks carried out on Sunday night. Most were killed by having their throats cut while others were burnt alive. Residents said that after Sunday’s raid, about 15 more people were missing. Some said they had probably fled into the mountain, others said they had more likely been kidnapped.

The attackers threw hand grenades into the houses of some residents who refused to come out, burying them in the rubble of their collapsed homes, survivors said.

News of the latest killing emerged as Algerian newspapers reported that troops, backed by helicopters had killed more than 300 Muslim rebels in a two-week offensive and now had scores more trapped in northeastern Algeria’s mountains.

Hundreds of civilians have been killed in massacres and bomb attacks in towns and villages over the past two years since Algerian strife, which erupted in early 1992, took a more bloody turn.

One newspaper said last week the latest massacres were carried out to try to force the military to ease its stranglehold on rebels trapped in an offensive which began when a woman, kidnapped during an earlier massacre, escaped.

She tipped off authorities about a rebel hideout in the Attatba area of Blida region. Le Matin and Al Khabar dailies said yesterday that after the offensive, the troops had moved to , south and west of Attatba, to encircle and pound more rebels.