Algeria:
Algeria is an ultra-dangerous, do-not-go zone, unless you're a war correspondent for a major daily newspaper--in which case the government in Algiers will provide free armed body guards (as long as you don't leave the city). Since the government cancelled the election results in 1992, which showed the Muslim fundamentalists winning, a bloody civil war has been raging between government forces and Muslim rebels who feel they should be in power. One-hundred thousand men, women and children have been killed. This is an ugly war, in which both sides are responsible for shedding the blood of their own people. Recently, another national election took place, but six out of seven of the candidates bowed out, saying votes had been rigged. Abdelaziz Bouteflika is the new president.
However, the new president has been endorsed by 80 per cent of the people, who recently voted in a referendum that asked if they accepted his peace plan. Two of the radical groups have rejected the plan, but the FIS, one of the biggest anti-government parties, has approved the plan. There could be a light at the end of the tunnel.
Environmentally, Algeria has problems as well. About 80 per cent of the country is desert, but now the desert is expanding. There's a huge gap between rich and poor, and ordinary Algerians are constantly having to cope with soaring prices for basic necessities.
This page last updated September 22, 1999.