Killing by cop sparks riots
06/03/2006 22:06  - (SA)  

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Algiers - A weekend killing of a young man by a policeman in a suburb of Algeria's capital caused riots in which hundreds of youths attacked public buildings and burned down a bank, said witnesses on Monday.

The unrest was at its height late on Sunday afternoon in the western Zeralda district of Algiers, where violence erupted after news spread that a policeman had shot a youth who burst into a police station during the night, wielding an axe.

An official in the security forces on Monday said that the young man had gone to the police station about 03:00 seeking "vengeance in a love rivalry" against one of the officers.

The source said that he attacked policemen and one opened fire and killed him.

Reinforcements

Police reinforcements were on patrol in Zeralda on Monday morning after the rioting and a clash between hundreds of youths angered by the killing and riot police using tear gas who moved in after public buildings were vandalised.

The headquarters of the state-owned Local Development Bank (BDL) was razed and its cash point machine destroyed. Protestors also smashed windows of the post office.

It was reported that the day after the incidents, the suburb had calmed down.

The tribunal said that the state prosecutor at the court in Cheraga, west of Algiers, had ordered an autopsy on the youth shot in the early hours of Sunday and an enquiry into his death in the police station.

Local police officials made no comment on the death.