Algeria: Slow IDP return to rural areas

After a decade of civil war between government forces and islamist extremist groups, violence in Algeria has decreased significantly over the past few years. Between 1992 and 2002, fighting and attacks targeting the civil population forced large numbers of Algerians to flee rural areas and find security in nearby urban centres. The actual number of people displaced during the civil war is difficult to assess given the information void that has pervaded the conflict in Algeria since its onset.