El Bouni, Algeria - Employment offices sackaged, riots against unemployment. Unemployed burn town hall in Bou Smaïl

La Tribune

28/02/2011 - El Bouni, the most populated commune of the wilaya of Annaba, was yesterday the theatre of violent demonstrations which saw hundreds of young people attacking public buildings and urban fittings in response to their unheeded demands for work. Indeed, yesterday morning as of 8 a.m., a mass of young unemployed invaded the head office of the APC to be registered with the various formulas of employment DAIP, CID or CFI and all was going well when suddenly disputes burst out between young people and employees. Which set fire to the powder keg and upset everything transforming it into a violent demonstration. The head office of the APC was completely ransacked, furniture destroyed, windows broken, data-processing equipment trampled and launched into the staircases, documents and administrative forms provided by the applicants destroyed. The protesters who had taken as hostages the employees and even citizens inside the APC, then went to the seat of Civil protection located a little further to prevent access.
Street lamps, bus shelters and other fittings underwent the ire of the crowd which left nothing unturned on their way. Residents who had observed the scene in turn intervened to prevent the confusion of the services of the APC and a confrontation took place between the two sides. The gourdins set into action, cries, shouting, blood, and then intervention of the security forces called to the spot. The clashes between anti-riot demonstrators and police lasted for hours without the crowd dispersing. The use of excessive teargas grenades did not succeed in stopping the protesters who gathered each time to face the security forces.
The main roads were blocked and impromptu barricades erected, preventing any circulation in the two directions. It should be said that the majority of the young people who took part in this protest come from disinherited districts and localities such as Sidi Salem, Bouhamra, Essaroual as well as neighbouring shantytowns and it was the occasion for them to express their anger. Violently. Thus the office of the president of the APC, that of the general secretary and the offices of the employees were invested by the protesters and ransacked on their way. Towards 14:30, police brought the situation under control, without however succeeding in removing the stoppings which remained still drawn up, thus blocking circulation.

sitalgerie
Unemployed burn the town hall in Bou Smaïl
March 1, 2011 - March 1 dozens of young unemployed burned the town hall of Bou Smaïl, 50 km West of Algiers, DNA learned from an inhabitant. During this demonstration, two people tried immolate themselves inside the communal building. The commune of Bou Smail knew an important riot in January 2011 during which a man died.
Exasperated by the unfulfilled promises made by the mayor, the young people of the town once more blocked the main roads connecting this coastal town in the direction of Koléa. The demonstrators were protesting against poor living standards, unemployment, and bad housing. They once more denounced the promises of the person in charge of the commune. Around 15:00 demonstrators gave the attack to the seat of the town hall when the mayor was absent. “The angry young people benefitted from the absence of the mayor to get inside. They ransacked everything along their way”, adds our interlocutor. Two people tried set fire to themselves during this demonstration.