Algeria
signed the Mine Ban Treaty in December 1997 but has not ratified it yet. Algeria
did not endorse the pro-treaty Brussels declaration in June 1997 and attended
the Oslo negotiations in September initially as an observer. In Oslo, however,
Algeria announced it had changed its position and would sign the ban treaty in
December. Algeria voted “Yes” on the 1996 UN General Assembly
Resolution supporting negotiations of a total ban on antipersonnel mines as soon
as possible and voted “Yes” on the 1997 UNGA Resolution inviting
all states to sign the Mine Ban Treaty. It also voted in favor of the 1998 UNGA
Resolution urging ratification and universalization of the treaty. It is a state
party to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons, but it hasn’t
ratified the amended Protocol II on landmines (1996).
Production, Transfer, Stockpiling, and Use
Algeria does not produce antipersonnel mines and
is not known to have exported landmines to other countries. Algeria has
reportedly imported mines and explosives from Italy, France, Yugoslavia, Great
Britain and China.[1] Algeria
has a stockpile of mines, although the numbers and composition are unclear.
Some new mines have been laid due to Algeria’s security problems of the
1990s. Reports suggest that GIA (groupe islamiste arme) has used mines to
counter pursuit by the Algerian national army. Minefields have been found in the
regions where GIA operates and according the Algerian newspaper L'Authentique,
at least 1,500 mines needed to be removed in the regions of Ouled
Allel.[2] The train between
Algiers and Oran, a popular tourist route, has been attacked at least
twenty-five times, often with landmines, and is nicknamed “the train of
death.”[3]
Landmine Problem
Algeria has a slight landmine problem. German and
Italian troops laid minefields in the Northern Coastal areas during World War II
and French troops laid mines near the Tunisian and Moroccan borders until
1962.[4] According to the
Civilian Victims of the War of Liberation Association, France left “two
million pieces of landmines in Algeria,” planting landmines along the
famous electrified line of “Challe et Morice”’ at a rate of
one landmine per meter.[5]
While many mines have been removed, according to the government, today there are
about 1.3 million mines in place, including 913,000 in the Eastern frontier,
409,000 in Djebel et Kssour, and 4,200 in the Western
frontier.[6]
Mine Action
At the end of the Algerian war for independence,
the Army undertook a significant effort to demine the regions infested by mines.
Mine removal programs are still the responsibility of the Army. The Army has
received maps from France showing the mined zones. The mined zones are often
uninhabited desert places or mountainous areas that are difficult to access.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has distributed information kits
on landmines to authorities in the North Africa region, although no specifics
regarding Algeria are known.[7]
Landmine Casualties
It is unclear how many civilians have been killed
or wounded by landmines. According to the Algerian newspaper El Acil, there have
been more than 3,000 victims of mines since the
independence.[8] According to
other sources, 40,000 people have been killed and 80,000 people wounded as a
result of the landmines placed along the 2,000 kilometer “Challe et
Morice” line.[9] A recent
landmine victim was a farmer who lost his legs as he tried to plow his land in
September 1998, at Hoauch Benidja in the region of Sidi
Moussa.[10] In 1974, a law was
implemented by Algerian National Assembly to give financial assistance to
landmine survivors.[11]
[3]John Burns, “Algeria
Back from the Brink,” The Observer, 14 March 1999.
[4]U.S. Department of State,
Hidden Killers: The Global Problem with Uncleared Landmines, 1993, p.
44.
[5]“Landmines: A
Problem for Algeria as Well,” Reuters, 24 December 1997.
[6]Le Reseau D Echanges
Multidisciplinaire Pour L’Environment et le Developpement, Algerie,
Conference Regionale Sur les Dangers des Mines Terrestres dans les Pays Arabes,
11-12 February 1999.
[7]International Committee of
the Red Cross, Annual Report 1996: Tunis, Regional Delegation (Algeria,
Libya, Mauritania, Morocco/Western Sahara, Tunisia), 1 June 1997.
[11]Le Reseau D Echanges
Multidisciplinaire Pour L’Environment et le Developpement, Algerie,
Conference Regionale Sur les Dangers des Mines Terrestres dans les Pays Arabes,
11-12 February 1999.
About Us
Our Research Products