War and Terrorism in Algeria Essay

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Introduction

The civil war in Algeria was fought between the secular government and Islamic rebels. The Muslims were aimed at overthrowing the secular government and establishing a Muslim one. The events of the war have raised question on whether such violence has paid off in Algeria or not. It is mostly concluded that war is not the best way of solving issues in the state. There are however few instances when terrorism may be justified in consideration of the aim of the attacks.

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The attacks may simply be because of the need to protect the rights of the majority. There are a number of factors that will determine the party that wins in war which is related to how their activities are funded. To engage in war, parties are supposed to have adequate funds to ensure a steady supply of fighting materials. The number of participants in the war will also influence the direction that the war takes. Mostly it is the party that has many supporters that will ultimately win the war. In looking at Algeria, we find that as the civil war began, both parties were equally strong considering their determination to be in power (Schalk & Herring, 87).

The rebels had managed to influence most of the locals from all over the nation and were willing to take up the training and engage into war. The government on the other hand was in control of most of Algeria’s resources and thus giving it an advantage.

Events of the war

Looking at the events of the war, the target places were definitely locations with a considerable amount of wealth. This was to enable the participants to effectively target their enemies and also be able to fund their war activities. The rebels had been effectively trained and equipped to face their enemy which was the government. They were organized and placed in strategic positions to enable them conquer their enemies. The main support of the rebels was the local residents and some Muslim states. They seemed to be the main people that understood the situation and hence offer the support that they needed (Schalk & Herring, 87).

On the other hand, the government was supported by all non-Muslims in the country and other non-foreign Muslim states. France was the greatest supporter of the government considering its colonial affiliations to the state. As the parties engaged in battles, they had a clear understanding of who their enemies were and hence launching their attacks effectively. The rebels targeted places of government interests including its employees and foreigners.

The rebels were basically the majority in the country and organized themselves ready to attack. The level of their strength was observed in the 1992 elections where they had the majority votes, they had almost double of the total outcome compared to the secular government. They were also located in almost all areas of the country which made them to target their enemies at different locations. Since they were civilians, it was also not easy to differentiate between the normal citizens and the rebels; this was hence making it difficult for the government to stage their attacks (Davis, 83). The main economic activity that contributes to Algeria’s foreign income is the export of oil.

Algeria is one of the large producers of oil which contributes to a high percentage of foreign income. Oil wells were also the main targets of the rebels as the government also focused in protecting them. There were basically no reasonable charges against the government rather than the fact that the Muslims wanted to take over its running. The secular government was working towards meeting the needs of every individual keeping in mind that not all people were Muslims. This was however not making sense to the majority of the Muslims who felt that they should be in control.

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Even though the government was weak in terms of being supported by the locals, its strength was derived from the fact that it had made enough investments through the sell of oil. There also received foreign aid especially from France and hence being empowered to fight on. The reason why the government was given such support was because it was to protect the interests of the country (Horne, 70). The rebels were also getting a lot support from Iran and Sudan which were considered to have personal interests in the country.

It was hence considered vital for the country to be kept safe from such attacks. The rebels were also targeting foreign nationals especially from France which angered the government. The government of France was hence determined to ensure that the FIS does not take over as they will pose a threat to the international relations of the country. The French government was an active participant and supporter of the government.

The rebels were engaging in mass killings without a clear consideration of who they were directing their fights unlike the government that was mainly protecting its entities. Most of the people that were killed by the rebels were innocent and had nothing to do with the war. For instance, there were reported cases of journalists and foreigners being killed. They had also killed other civilians and kidnapping foreign nationals. It reached at time when the terrorist became so angry and engaged in mass killings of civilians and anything that seemed foreign to them. All this was in their effort to subdue the government.

It was a high time that the government employed measures that would ensure that public entities which were the main employers of the citizens were not destroyed (Sueur, 68). To counter attack the rebels, the government had to make good use of the militia groups. It was almost impossible to fight the rebels that had occupied most areas of the country and were now targeting urban centers. The militia groups were trained and positioned in areas where the government had little support. This was an extra boost to the government as it was able to locate the hiding places of the rebels and effectively attacking them. The government armies were placed in charge of prominent government entities so that they are not attacked by the rebels while the militia groups were to fight the rebels at the grassroots.

It was through this war that the country was able to save its resources. Even though many people were killed, the government was helped to win by other countries by funding the war. The majority support that the rebels had could not be compared to the financial aid and resources that the government obtained especially from France. Dialogue may not have assisted at this particular moment as the rebels were not ready for it. Their main aim was not for peace talks but rather to conquer (Horne, 70).

They may have found no reason to engage in the fights as the government had nor recorded any negative record towards the people. In fact, the economy of the country was performing well as the oil wells were well managed by the government. There were adequate job opportunities for people through government entities which was a clear indication of the efforts of the government to bring development in the country. The rebels had no specified agenda for the country rather than to conquer and rule. The future of a country is mainly invested in the government resources which are determined by the trade policies that are passed.

Conclusion

War and terrorism are always looked at on the negative due to the consequences that they may have on the people and investments in the country. Algeria is one country that participated in a war that had positive results on the country. There was no time for dialogue as the rebels were not interested in it. There was only time to fight, the outcome of which would determine the shape that the country would take.

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Unless the government took up the guns to protect the interests of its people, then the rebels would have taken over and hence putting the country into unpredicted future. A county needs the support of foreign nations to enhance its international business activities. If the resources of a country are not used appropriately, the people will languish in poverty when there are enough resources (Davis, 83).

An example is usually derived from Afghanistan where by most of its resources are channeled into terrorism. Despite the increasing number of poor people in the country, Afghanistan is known for production of high quality terrorist weapons and military technology. The country is investing huge amount of money in weapons when the basic needs of the people are at stake. This could have been a similar situation for Algeria had the government come up strongly in opposition by engaging in war.

Works cited

Davis, John. Africa and the war on terrorism Author. New York: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2007.

Horne, Alistair. A savage war of peace: Algeria, 1954-1962. New York: New York Review Books, 2006.

Schalk, David & Herring, George. War and the ivory tower: Algeria and Vietnam. Nebraska: U of Nebraska Press, 2005.

Sueur, James. Uncivil war: intellectuals and identity politics during the decolonization of Algeria. Nebraska: U of Press, 2005.

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IvyPanda. (2022) 'War and Terrorism in Algeria'. 16 May.

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IvyPanda. 2022. "War and Terrorism in Algeria." May 16, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/terrorism-in-algeria/.

1. IvyPanda. "War and Terrorism in Algeria." May 16, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/terrorism-in-algeria/.


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IvyPanda. "War and Terrorism in Algeria." May 16, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/terrorism-in-algeria/.

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