At least nine people were killed today in a fresh wave of rioting in Algeria's northeastern Kabylie region, bringing the death toll from a week of unrest to at least 25, witnesses said.
One of the victims was the cousin of local correspondent of the Algiers daily Nouvelle Republique, sources said.
He was shot in the head while covering demonstrations in the town of Tizi Rached, 110 kilometers east of Algiers.Sources in the region had earlier identified the journalist as the victim.
Eight other people were killed in a series of clashes between youths and security forces elsewhere in the mainly ethnic Berber region, witnesses said.
The region has been gripped by riots after a teenager in police custody was shot dead last Sunday and three other youths were manhandled for shouting anti-government slogans at police.
Dozens of civilians and hundreds of police have been injured, according to the interior ministry. Witnesses and press reports have put the death toll, with the nine killed today, at around 30, with hundreds injured.
AFP