Events from the year 2009 in Algeria
Incumbents
President: Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Prime Minister: Ahmed Ouyahia
Events
January
January 2: The death toll from political violence reached sixteen in the month of December 2008, double the number of the previous month. The total killed in 2008 dropped to 338 from 491 in 2007. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed to have murdered five members of government security forces in December 2008. January 3: Al Qaeda's North African wing claimed to have killed at least 29 members of the Algerian security forces in the past three months. It conducted 21 attacks in northern Algeria, between September and December 2008. The incursions came in Bejaia, Constantine, Algeria, and Biskra. The group was previously known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). January 7: The Palestinian ambassador to Algeria, Ahmed Al-Hourani, emphasized the importance of regaining unity among all factions in Palestine. He told Fatour Essabah that Israel has set a new map of the region, separating the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, and joining them to Egypt and Jordan, respectively. January 7: In Dhebahia, western Bouira Province, a 65-year-old woman sustained a leg injury while she was harvesting olives with another family member. She was treated in the emergency area of her town's hospital after she stepped on a bomb planted by terrorists. January 12: Protectors of the Salafiste Preaching Group, a rival terrorist organization to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, is led by Mohamed Ben Salem, a.k.a. Abu Djaafar Al-Afghani. The group has posted video recordings of attacks against Algerian army forces in Tipaza, Sidi Bel Abbes, Ain Deffla, Relizene, and Tissemsilt. These are regions in which Al Qaeda has yet to establish known bases. January 12: Terrorist murdered a 40-year-old man and his 75-year-old mother during an ambush in Amelza in southern Sidi Bel Abbes. The attackers used a gun stolen from an 80-year-old man to kill the two people and injure another relative, who was hospitalized. January 13: Reporters Without Borders urged Algerian authorities to conduct a full investigation into the attempted murder of Hafnaoui Ghoul, a journalist for the daily al-Wassat. Ghoul, a human rights advocate, was approached by a group of hooded assailants who gagged him and tore his clothes on the night of January 6, 2009. The attempt came at Ghoul's home in Djelfa and the attackers fled without being identified. January 14: The criminal court in Algiers has sentenced to death a terrorist bearing the initials K.J., with the nickname Abou Khitama. He was charged with killing hundreds of civilians and security agents after joining terror organizations in Ain Defla province in 1994. Khitama was arrested on June 13, 2005. His murders occurred over the years from 1996 to 2005. January 14: Algerian Labour Party PT Louisa Hanoune expressed opposition to a government proposal to install a national committee of elections supervising. She believes that such an organization has not been proved to be efficient. January 17: The GAC Group of Dubai has opened a ship agency in Algeria to exploit the booming gas and oil business there. January 18: Al-Qaeda militants in training have been reported to have succumbed to the black death, a plague which decimated Europe during the Middle Ages. January 21: Fifteen people have died during storms which occurred in Algeria over a 48-hour period. Most of the dead were the victims of traffic accidents. The storms struck both the northern and southern parts of the country. Hundreds of homes in Alouef, Ouargia, and Ghardaya have been damaged. January 21: Algeria Telecom has formed a partnership with Iristel under the Algeria Connect brand. With Algeria Connect phone calls can be made from Algerian phones to locations worldwide at the cost of a local call. January 21: Algerian judicial police reported a total of 34,000 crimes committed in the nation during 2008. 23,900 people were involved and 23,729 were taken into custody. January 28: Algeria's foreign ministry admonished the United States for warning of terrorist attacks in Algiers, during a meeting with a senior American diplomat. January 28: Bovine tuberculosis is prevalent in Algeria despite the efforts of government authorities to control the disease. The abattoirs of Algiers and Blida were studied between August and November 2007. A total of 7250 animals in all were screened. In 260 of these gross visible granulomatous lesions were found and put into culture. Bacterial isolates were afterward analyzed employing molecular methods.