Europeans may have become inured to reports of atrocities from Algeria. The attack yesterday, however, in Sidi Moussa, just 10 kilometres from Algiers, was of such barbarity that even the dulled sensitivities of westerners have been re-awakened.
Hundreds of people, mainly women and children, were murdered in the night. Some were killed as they slept, others woke to be burned to death in their homes, others still were put to the knife. As Lara Marlowe reports in this newspaper today, the killing continued for a full three hours without intervention from the Algerian army, thus lowering the credibility of the government to zero level.
The civil war, which is estimated to have cost the lives of 60,000 civilians since the disputed elections five years ago, has been one of low technology. Tin cans and nails have been turned into grenades. Night time swoops by cave-dwelling terrorists have echoed the tactics of the special forces employed by regular armies. The very fact that the knife and the torch have wrought the deaths of so many, rather than the more modern rocket and tank, has made the killings seem still more horrific. It is, to the contemporary mind, more barbaric to take one life by the slitting of a throat than a thousand by the pushing of a button.
The killing of 60,000 in Algeria therefore, is looked upon with greater horror than a similar number of deaths from carpet bombing in Chechnya or artillery bombardment in Bosnia. Killing from a distance may be every bit as evil, but it is not as shocking as death at close quarters. But it should be remembered that to the victims, small children included, and to those who survive, the manner in which the deaths occur matters little. It is the loss and the fear of further losses that plants terror in the minds of those who live under the shadow of atrocity.
To judge by the immediate reaction of the Algerian authorities, the carnage will continue. Statements issued by the government have referred to `additional security measures' which have been `devised' and `measures' which have `been decided in order to reinforce the protection of inhabited sites in the countryside.'
In the past such statements have been the precursors of the handing out of arms to villagers who describe themselves as `patriots.' In fact, the arming of villagers has marked an abdication of responsibility on the part of the Algerian government. In situations such as the current civil war, giving guns to civilians is no substitute for prosecuting a serious campaign against the insurgents.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the government has been cautious in its estimates of casualties in Sidi Moussa. Official estimates have put the death toll at 98 with 120 wounded, 30 of them seriously. Reports from the villages of a death toll of more than 200 - the worst since hostilities began - are likely to be closer to the mark. The immediate reaction from Algiers in which the government has striven to avoid its responsibilities, augurs badly for the future.