22 dead in Arab-Berber unrest in Algeria

At least 22 people have died in clashes between Berber and Arab communities in southern Algeria on the edge of the Sahara desert, the national news agency APS reported Wednesday. It was the bloodiest toll in two years of frequent clashes between the communities, prompting President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to convene an emergency meeting of top leaders including army chief of staff General Ahmed Gaid Salah.
APS said another 19 people wounded in two days of clashes between Chaamba Arabs and Mozabite Berbers in the M'zab valley had died of their injuries, raising the toll since Tuesday to 22. Dozens of other people were hurt in the violence on Tuesday and Wednesday, the agency said, citing hospital sources and officials.