ALGIERS, 19 January 2005 — Rioting has erupted south of the Algerian capital and in the volatile Kabylie region over government plans to increase gas prices, newspaper reports said here yesterday. Hundreds of youths on Monday trashed and set fire to public buildings in the town of Birine, in the Djelfa region 270 kilometers south of Algiers, in protest at the decision to hike prices in mid-winter. Security forces used tear gas against the demonstrators, carrying out several arrests, the reports said. Meanwhile in the northeastern Kabylie region, angry demonstrators in the town of Kherrata reportedly blockaded the region’s main road. Butane gas and fuel oil are the only available sources of energy in Algeria’s remote mountain regions and high plateaus. The government’s decision to hike the price goes against a recommendation from the national parliament. Hostility to Algiers authorities erupted into bloody unrest in Kabylie in 2001, claiming at least 100 lives and leaving dozens more injured.
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