The
Sidi-Hamed massacre took place on the night of January 11, 1998 (the last day of
Ramadan), in the town of Sidi-Hamed (or Sidi-Hammad), 30 km south of
Algiers. An estimated fifty gunmen poured in, attacking children and adults alike; they bombed a cafe where films were being watched and a mosque in nearby Haouche Sahraoui, killing those who fled, and stormed houses to slaughter those within. According to official figures, 103 were killed and seventy injured, including two pro-government fighters and five of the attackers. Other sources indicate a higher toll; AFP supposedly counted over 120 corpses, and some Algerian newspapers claimed 400. Thirty girls were reportedly kidnapped. The
massacre was generally blamed on the
GIA. One newspaper claimed that survivors blamed it on the
AIS.