Souhane massacre in Algeria; over 60 people are killed and 15 kidnapped.
Souhane massacre
The largest of the Souhane massacres occurred in the small mountain town of Souhane on 20–21 August 1997. 64 people were killed, and 15 women were kidnapped; the resulting terror triggered a mass exodus, reducing the town's population down from 4000 before the massacre to just 103 in 2002. Smaller-scale massacres later took place on November 27, 1997 and 2 March 2000, when some 10 people from a single household were killed by guerrillas. The massacres were attributed on Islamist groups such as the GIA.
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia; to the east by Libya; to the southeast by Niger; to the southwest by Mali, Mauritania, and Western Sahara; to the west by Morocco; and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The capital and largest city is Algiers, located in the far north on the Mediterranean coast.