Violent clashes in Tinzaouatine on the Algerian-Malian border

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Violent clashes took place Monday in Tinzaouatine, in southern Algeria on the border with Mali. One person was killed and several injured. At the origin of the clashes: a barbed wire fence installed to secure the border, which people have torn off.

Publicity

Since Monday, photos and videos of Tinzaouatine have been circulating on social networks. We see injured people there and we hear gunfire. These images also show a barbed wire fence, installed to secure the border between Algeria and Mali, in this desert area where the jihadist threat is present.

A terrible repression is taking place at the moment on the inhabitants of Tinzaouatine (commune of the wilaya of Tamanrasset located on the border with Mali). Use of live ammunition and wounded are to be deplored according to initial information # Algeria # Tinzaouatine # تينزاواتين pic.twitter.com/wUNnW9eAwz

It is this fence which is at the origin of a demonstration: people tore down the barbed wire. Indeed a resident of Ikhraben, on the Malian side, explains that this separation installed about a month ago has already been denounced by civil society, with the authorities of Tamanrasset. He adds that people come and go on both sides of the border, and that this barrier prevents them. For its part, the Algerian press also cites a problem of access to a water source.

Algerian army shoots Malian

In a statement released Monday by the Algerian Ministry of Defense, the army denies having opened fire. Authorities cite an attempt to damage the security wall, carried out by individuals known for their smuggling and organized crime activities.

"  Unknown shots were fired from Ikhraben towards the positions of our border guards, having hit an individual among the crowd,  " said the text. The military has ordered an investigation to clarify the circumstances of this incident.

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• Algeria
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• Terrorism