While the fires are not yet fully under control, the Algerian government is looking for culprits. Since the beginning of the crisis, the authorities have claimed that these fires are of criminal origin. They are now pointing the finger at a Kabyle independence network that is considered a terrorist in Algeria.
The Directorate-General for National Security accuses an independent network of being the author of the fires, but also of the murder of Djamel Ben Ismaïl. This young man was wrongly accused of being a murderer and lynched by a mob close to Tizi Ouzou (Spain)
The story of Djamel Ben Ismaïl shocked the whole country. After coming to help his homeland in the fires, he was horribly killed last week by a crowd who mistakenly thought he was responsible for the fires. The Algerian authorities have announced the arrest of 61 suspects in this case.
Concerns over a political reversal of the trial These people are suspected of having participated in the murder and killing of Djamel Ben Ismaïl’s body. According to the authorities, some of these suspects admitted that they belonged to a Kabyle independence organization, the Kabylia Self-Determination Movement (MAK). This organization is banned in the territory and classified as a terrorist by the Algerian government.
The Algerian League for Human Rights has expressed concern that the trial of the murder of Djamel Ben Ismail will become a political trial. At the same time, the government is pointing the finger at “a criminal network classified as a terrorist organization” as at the origin of the fires of recent weeks. This time, the authorities do not quote MAK but refer directly to it in their press release.
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