OPPOSITION parties piled the political pressure on Algeria's military backed regime yesterday just days before a controversial referendum on constitutional reform, as a second bomb attack in two days left one person dead.
The blast south west of Algiers also injured 13 people, and came a day after a car bomb killed five people and injured 15 others in the garrison town of Blida, 50 km (30 miles) south of the capital.
The government has mounted a nationwide campaign for a yes vote to the planned reforms, which include boosting presidential powers, banning religious parties, preserving Islam as the state religion and maintaining Arabic as the official language.
The outlawed Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) and other opposition groups issued a joint statement in Brussels yesterday calling for a no vote. "This new constitution that institutionalises the dictatorship cannot restore peace, security and stability in the country," the statement said.
The Algerian security services said a home made bomb placed in a bus shelter had exploded at around 11.30 a.m. (10.30 Irish time) yesterday near the Berroughia hospital, 100 km (60 miles) south west of Algiers. Six of the injured were said to be in a serious condition.
Since the beginning of the month, at least 132 people have been killed in a rising tide of attacks blamed on armed Islamic groups.
According to official figures, some 16.4 million voters, including some 700,000 abroad - mainly in France - are registered to vote. Early voting began on Saturday for Algerian nationals living abroad, while the military and security forces, as well as nomads in the country's southern desert region, cast their ballots yesterday.
With their ballots cast early, the troops can be deployed in force on Thursday to patrol the poll proper.
Meanwhile, campaigning continued throughout Algeria, notably in the western city of Oran, where the Prime Minister, Mr Ahmed Ouyahia, addressed a meeting.
With the new constitution, "there will no longer be any parties founded on a religious, linguistic base ... there will no longer be parties which will serve foreign interests," he claimed.