More than 40 injured in Algeria clashes

ALGIERS - Forty-two people were injured during clashes Saturday between police and pro-democracy activists at a banned demonstration in the Algerian capital, opposition leader Said Sadi told AFP.

"Forty-two have been wounded, two of them seriously. All of them have been taken to hospital," the president of the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD), said. The party's spokesman Mohsen Belabbes, was among the injured, Sadi added.

Police meanwhile said seven of their men were injured during the protest, two of whom were in a serious condition, according to the APS news agency.

And the Ennahar daily said in a statement that one of its photographers had suffered serious head and shoulder injuries while covering the demonstration after someone threw a chair out of a first-floor window of the RCD's offices.

Sadi said there had been multiple arrests at the demonstration, without giving a precise figure while the police put the number of arrests at five.

The government had warned people not to show support for the rally in central Algiers in a statement issued on the eve of the march, amid fears of popular unrest spreading from neighbouring Tunisia.

Among those arrested was the head of the party's parliamentary group, Othmane Amazouz, the RCD leader said.

Another of the party's MPs, Arezki Aiter, was detained but released after an hour, the party said.

Around 300 people had gathered for the rally, intending to march from the city's Place de la Concorde to the parliament building, but they were quickly blockaded by riot police armed with batons and tear gas, which prevented the group from moving for six hours.

Sadi said his party's headquarters in the city's main avenue had been put under siege by police, describing himself as "a prisoner".

"We cannot wage a peaceful campaign when we are under siege," he said, using a megaphone to address the crowd ! from a f irst-floor window.

The protesters in the street below waved Tunisian as well as Algerian flags and shouted "A free Algeria, a democratic Algeria" in Arabic, and "Murder State".

An AFP journalist saw one of the party's regional leaders, Reda Boudraa, bleeding from the head after being hit by a police baton. Boudraa was taken away in an ambulance with another injured protester.

Several people were arrested, most of them youths. One was dragged away by six men in civilian clothes and beaten in the doorway of a nearby building.

The government warning, carried by official news agency APS, stated: "Citizens are asked to show wisdom and vigilance and not respond to possible provocation aimed at disturbing their tranquillity, peace of mind and serenity."

"Marches are not allowed in Algiers" the statement warned, adding that "all assemblies on public roads are considered a breach of public order".

The march was planned "without authorisation", it said. Demonstrations are banned in Algeria because of a state of emergency in place since 1992.

Mounting public grievances over unemployment and rising costs sparked protests in Algeria earlier this month which left five people dead and more than 800 injured.

The government responded swiftly by reducing the prices of oil, sugar and other basic necessities which had risen sharply, while buying up a million tonnes of wheat amid assurances that subsidies on essential goods like flour would continue.

Unrest still simmers, however, and within the past two weeks eight people set themselves on fire in Algeria, although some cases were deemed to be linked to mental health issues.

Students at the Mouloud-Mammeri University at Tizi-Ouzou in the restive Kabylie region east of Algiers had said that they would back the protest.

In a statement the student leadership praised the Tunisian uprising and said it "inspired and motivated all the patriots of North Africa."

Algerian commentators have said that more ! Tunisia- style protests could break out in Algeria, a country with similar social problems.

Unemployment, specifically of the young, is a key issue in Algeria, a country where according to the authorities 15 million of the 36 million population is under the age of 30.

In Tunisia, similar unrest sparked the overthrow of the government of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, whose 23 years in power ended with his flight to Saudi Arabia.