Internal Displacement: Global Overview of Trends and Developments in 2010 - Algeria
| Publisher | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC) |
| Publication Date | 23 March 2011 |
| Cite as | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC), Internal Displacement: Global Overview of Trends and Developments in 2010 - Algeria, 23 March 2011, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4d932e29c.html [accessed 8 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Number of IDPs | Undetermined |
| Percentage of total population | Undetermined |
| Start of current displacement situation | 1992 |
| Peak number of IDPs (Year) | 1,500,000 (2002) |
| New displacement | Undetermined |
| Causes of displacement | Armed conflict, human rights violations |
| Human development index | 84 |
Conflict between insurgent groups and the government, which broke out in 1992 after the results of a general election were annulled, left between 500,000 and 1.5 million people internally displaced. In particular, large-scale massacres of civilians between 1996 and 1998 by the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) forced many Algerians to flee affected areas.
Since the conflict waned, there have been no surveys of the number of IDPs or assessments of their situation. Media sources including the El Watan newspaper suggested there were 500,000 IDPs in 2004, but since then estimates have not been forthcoming.
The government has consistently reported that internal displacement has ended. Its figures on urban growth rates show that the expansion of cities has slowed, but these reports do not take into account the many people living in slums around cities without legal residence. These informal settlements have grown significantly in Algiers, Blida, Médéa, Chlef, Tiaret, Sidi Bel Abbes, Relizane and Oran, and host many of those that were displaced. It is likely that a significant number of IDPs there had not achieved durable solutions by 2010.
Al Qa'eda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) extended its insurgent activities in 2010 from the north and the regions of Aurés and Jijel to southern areas on the Saharan borders with Mali, Niger, and Mauritania, but there have been no reports of resulting displacement.
The national state of emergency in place since 1992 caused protests from the opposition in 2010. Nonetheless, a steady overall improvement in security emboldened President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to begin a third term in 2009 after modifying the constitution to allow for re-election. Algeria was not among the countries that signed the Kampala Convention in 2010.
