Updated Jan. 11, 2024 at 2:00 p.m.
The Sidi-Hamed massacre took place on this day in 1998, one of the bloodiest attacks of the Algerian Civil War.
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What was the Sidi-Hamed massacre?
The massacre took place in the town of Sidi-Hamed, 30 kilometers south of Algiers. It was one of the bloodiest attacks on civilians during the Algerian Civil War.
An estimated 50 gunmen participated, attacking children and adults. They bombed a cafe where films were being watched and a mosque nearby, killing those who fled, and entered houses to kill those inside.
Who carried out the Sidi-Hamed massacre?
The massacre was generally blamed on the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA), which was one of the two main Islamist insurgent groups that fought the Algerian government and army in the Algerian Civil War.