August 7, 2009:
Troops and police ran down and killed 20 armed Islamic radicals east of the capital. Meanwhile, thousands of troops and police sought Islamic terrorists west of the capital, in an area that had been free of terrorist violence for the last two years. It is feared that the terrorists responsible for killing 14 troops there, have fled the area.
Al Qaeda has declared war against Chinese present in the country, and especially the thousands of Chinese involved in building roads to the interior. This hate campaign plays well with the young, unemployed, Algerians who are most likely to join al Qaeda.
The government is supporting the spread of less austere forms of Islam, especially the Sufi approach (which is heavily into mysticism). But there is still a small percentage of young Algerians who are so angry at government corruption and incompetence (at running the economy) that they are willing to join or support Islamic terrorists.
August 3, 2009: In the capital, about a hundred Chinese and Algerians brawled in the streets. Several Chinese shops were damaged, and dozens of people were injured. There is growing resentment at the thousands of Chinese being brought into the country to work as laborers on Chinese run and funded constructions projects. Over a third of men 18-30 are out of work, and they are angry at seeing these Chinese "taking their jobs." But the Chinese insist on bringing their own workers in, because Arab workers are considered too undisciplined and lackadaisical to enable contractors to comply with the quality requirements and timetables stipulated in the contracts. The government recognizes this, but will not dwell on it publicly. Instead, the government promotes the positive aspects of Chinese investment in the country. This does little for the many unemployed young men. There are over 700,000 Chinese in Africa, and over 50,000 in Algeria.
July 31, 2009: In response to a terrorist ambush that killed 14 soldiers last Wednesday, the military has deployed an additional 5,000 troops to hunt down the Islamic radicals responsible. The ambush took place 70 kilometers west of the capital, in an area where Islamic terrorists usually do not operate.
July 28, 2009: In two incidents, terrorists killed three security troops.