ConflictBarometer_2015

MIDDLE EAST AND MAGHREB
ALGERIA (MALEKITES MOZABITES / GHARDAIA)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2013
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
The violent crisis over subnational predominance between
the Arab Malekite and Berber Mozabite communities in Algeria's
southern province of Ghardaia continued.
Between January 7 and 10, rival gangs of the two conflict
parties started confrontations in the city of Ghardaia. When
the police tried to restore order by using tear gas, Mozabites
as well as Malekites responded by throwing Molotov
cocktails and stones. The confrontations left three civilians
dead. Around 15 people were injured, including five policemen.The
situation calmed down until May 16, when violent
clashes between Mozabites and Malekites re-erupted. When
the police tried to intervene, members of both communities
threw Molotov cocktails and stones, injuring 15 policemen.
In addition, three houses and three cars were set on fire
by rival community fractions. On June 13, the communal
confrontations continued in the town of Berriane. Riot police
intervened by using tear gas and rubber bullets to separate
the conflict parties. Overall, two people died and 40 people
were injured, including 14 policemen.
The violence reached its peak on July 7 and 8, when 23
people were killed in the Southern cities of Guerera, Berriane,
and Ghardaia, most of them being Mozabites. Alleged
Malekites used firearms to shoot at members of the Mozabite
community in Guerera, accounting for 19 of the 23 deaths
on both sides. During the clashes in the three cities, several
shops, cars, palm gardens, urban infrastructure, and public
buildings were set on fire or damaged by other means.
At an emergency meeting on July 8, President Abd al-Aziz
Bouteflika announced the deployment of the military to the
region in order to restore order and stability. Collective recognition
for the army's efforts was demonstrated in a so-called
ceremony of gratitude in the city of Ghardaia on December
20. The event was organized by community leaders and was
attended by representatives of the conflict parties as well as
civil and military authorities. ala
ALGERIA (OPPOSITION)
Malekites vs. Mozabites
subnational predominance
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2011
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
CNDDC, National Collective for a
Moratorium on Shale Gas in Algeria
et al. vs. government
system/ideology
The violent crisis over the orientation of the political system
between various opposition groups and the government continued.
The year was marked by several violent demonstrations,
mainly organized by the National Committee for the Defense
of Rights of Unemployed Persons (CNDDC), who demanded
the government to stop its shale gas extraction projects in
the southern province of Tamanrasset. Over the course of the
year, at least 17 CNDDC members were arrested.
Continuous demonstrations were held for two months in Ain
Salah, Tamanrasset, the town closest to the drilling sites. The
anti-shale gas demonstrations then spread across other parts
of Algeria's Saharan region, with their frequency decreasing
in the second half of the year.
On January 4, a total of 4,000 people demonstrated in the
cities of Ain Salah, Tamanrasset, El Ménéa, and Ain Ghar,
Tamanrasset. More than 3,000 police forces were mobilized
to restore order. On February 25, demonstrators formed the
''National Collective for a Moratorium on Shale Gas in Algeria.''
Violent clashes erupted for the first time on February
28, when protesters and police forces clashed in Ain Salah.
Demonstrators threw stones and set ablaze a police station
after a coalition of liberal and Islamist parties such as the
Movement for Society and Peace had called for the demonstration.
Security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowds.
Three security forces and at least four demonstrators were
injured. On March 1, a total of 4,000 people demonstrated
in Ain Salah and Tamanrasset. The same day, the government
deployed 1,200 soldiers. The protesters set fire to
the residence of the district's prefect, one police dormitory,
and one police bus. According to the Ministry of the Interior,
40 police forces were injured. A local hospital reported
20 injured protesters. On March 14, several thousand people
staged demonstrations in multiple Southern cities. The
largest demonstration took place in the town of Ouargla in
the eponymous province, where more than 3,000 protesters
marched against the government's plan to extract shale gas
in the region. Five days later, President Abd al-Aziz Bouteflika
called for the restoration of national unity and condemned
the shale-gas demonstrations. On April 4, several hundred
people protested in the city of Batna, Batna province. After
the police shot dead a young person in Ain Bessem,
Bouira province, on July 2, demonstrators and security forces
clashed. The protesters attacked the local police station,
burned down a police vehicle, and placed burning tires to
close access to the village. ala
BAHRAIN (OPPOSITION)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1975
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
opposition groups vs. government
system/ideology, national power
The violent crisis over the orientation of the political system
and national power between the mainly Shiite opposition
groups and the Sunni government led by King Hamad bin Isa
al-Khalifa continued. Throughout the year, the opposition,
consisting among others of the main opposition parliamentary
group al-Wefaq National Islamic Society and the
Coalition of February 14 Youth, reiterated demands for the
release of opposition members and called for a constitutional
monarchy with a prime minister elected by the people.
After Sheikh Ali Salman, leader of al-Wefaq, had been
arrested on 12/28/2014, protests demanding his release
erupted in and around the capital Manama, located in the
Capital Governorate, throughout January. Reportedly, the
demonstrations turned violent several times. For instance, on
January 9, Shiite opposition supporters clashed with police
forces who fired in the air and used tear gas to break up
the demonstration, leaving several protesters injured. On
January 31, the government revoked the citizenship of 72
opposition members, human rights activists, and journalists
who were deemed to have threatened national security.
Marking the fourth anniversary of the protest movement
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