ALGIERS, 14 December 2004 — More than 30 youths and six policemen were injured in riots on Sunday over a shortage of housing in western Algeria, newspapers said. More than 100 demonstrators, many hooded, burned tires and hurled Molotov cocktails and stones at anti-riot police in Oran, Algeria’s second largest city, daily Le Quotidien d’Oran said yesterday. Some 30 people were arrested in the street disturbances, sparked by anger at the limited allocation of new state-subsidized apartments, L’Expression said. Authorities were not immediately available for comment. Demonstrations are rare because they need approval from the Interior Ministry under a state of emergency in place since 1992, when the cancellation of elections a hard-line Islamic party was set to win sparked more than a decade of violence. But riots are becoming more frequent as frustrated youths take to the streets over a lack of housing and jobs. Unemployment stands at almost 30 percent. More than 150,000 people, mostly civilians, have died since 1992, according to human rights groups. Re-elected President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has pledged to make one million flats available over the next five years and recently unveiled a five-year, $50 billion investment program to cut unemployment, bolster growth and update infrastructure.
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