AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Public Statement

AI Index: MDE 28/016/2007 (Public)

News Service No: 172

7 September 2007

Algeria: Amnesty International condemns suicide attack in Batna

Amnesty International condemns yesterday’s suicide attack in Batna which killed at least 22 people and injured 107, according to the latest official figures.

The attacker reportedly triggered a bomb in the middle of a crowd of people gathered for a visit by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in the town of Batna in eastern Algeria.

The attack appears to have deliberately targeted civilians, showing a callous disregard for the most basic human right, the right to life.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Amnesty International has repeatedly called for an end to all deliberate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, which are graveviolations of international law, in Algeria.