Rival militias battling for control of southern Algerian border

Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Algeria has sought to quell ethnic battles near the southern
border with Mali.

Algerian sources said dozens of people have been killed in fighting
between rival militias around the border town of Bordj Badji Mokhtar.
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They said the militias reflected the influx of Al Qaida-aligned fighters from neighboring Mali amid a French military offensive in 2013.

“The fighting is about who will retain control over the border area,” a source said.

So far, at least 24 people were killed in a week of battles between the militias. The militias were identified as Brabiche, an Arab unit, and Idnan, aligned with the Tawareq tribe and linked to Mali.

“The town has become completely isolated,” the Algerian daily, Al Watan,
said.

The regime of President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika has responded to the
militia clashes. The sources said the Interior Ministry deployed 1,500
troops to stop the fighting around Bordj.

On Aug. 22, the official Algerian Press Service reported a lull in the
fighting in Bordj. APS cited a statement by Interior Minister Daho Kablia.

“The situation in Bordj Badji Mokhtar is returning to normal after the
incidents that occurred recently in this border city,” Kablia was quoted as
saying.

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