GIA – Armed Islamic group of Algeria

1. GIA – Armed Islamic group of Algeria Natalie Fiestas Katty Elfi Goga

2. WHAT IS TERRORISM? • Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against individuals or property to coerce or intimidate governments or societies to achieve political, religious, or ideological goals. • Terrorism is basically an act to cause terror for the sake of a belief. • Most people have different opinions when it comes to terrorism because the ones practicing it see it as a last resort act, and the victims see it as a senseless and ruthless act. • “Terrorists” are the people who practice terrorism. They’re usually people from less developed countries under an oppressive government who are desperate for the world to hear their cause. • They feel like violence is the only way to bring attention to their beliefs. They also feel like instilling terror in their enemies is the best way to win. • The definition of a terrorist evolved over the years, before it used to represent a person who would bad things to mess with people’s peace of mind, now most terrorists do not cause terror for no reason, they are more meticulous and actually have a reason for terrorism.

3. What is terrorism? (Con’t) • There are a few types of terrorism: State Terrorism, Bioterrorism, Cyber Terrorism, Eco Terrorism, Nuclear Terrorism and Narcoterrorism. • State Terrorism = States who use force or the threat of force, without declaring war, to terrorize citizens and achieve a political goal. • Bioterrorism = The intentional release of toxic biological agents (ex. Anthrax) to harm and terrorize civilians, in the name of a political or other cause. • Cyber Terrorism = The use information technology to attack civilians and draw attention to their cause. • Eco Terrorism = A recently coined term describing violence in the interests of environmentalism. • Nuclear Terrorism = A number of different ways nuclear materials might be exploited as a terrorist tactic. • Narcoterrorism = Violence used by drug traffickers to influence governments or prevent government efforts to stop the drug trade.

4. General information on gia • The Armed Islamic Group, known by its French acronym, GIA, waged a violent war against Algeria's secular military regime during the 1990s. • GIA was formed in 1992 after the government nullified likely victory of the Islamic Salvation Front in 1991 legislative elections. • It is based in Algeria, North Africa. • There are about 30-100 members in GIA. • GIA aimed to overthrow the Algerian regime and replace it with Islamic states. • The weapons used are Bombs, assault rifles, daggers, knives, machine guns, grenade launchers and explosives

5. One act of terrorism • In Algeria’s past, the Gia has been most known for its violent killings. In 1997 they held car bombings, slit people’s throats, and held massacre killings of many children. In addition to those killings, fifty-two were slashed to death. Many of these people were killed for the reason of Ramadan. Armed raids killed two hundred people, In that same year, an attack was made in the four western Algerian Village. About four hundred and twelve people were killed in this massacre in different ways. • The groups involved in these acts were Islamic and participated in Ramadan, when the violence occurred. • Another reason it occurred was because the GIA was disputing with another terrorist group, the IAS( Islamic Salvation Army). Both terrorist groups had also took part in killing each others family members/

6. WORLD RESPONSES (Local/global) • Many GIA members left and joined AL Qaeda or its sister cells. • Globally, one world response against GIA was when in 2002, a French court sentenced two GIA terrorists to life in prison for conducting a series of bombings in France in 1995. • GIA only operates in Algeria so the world gets involved when a specific country is targeted. • France has been keeping tabs on GIA since the Air France flight to Algiers was high jacked in December 1994. • Locally, the Algerian Secret Service (DRS) would arrest suspected members of GIA to turn them into informants. They are trying to eliminate the whole cell even with the small number of members left. • The group is slowly disappearing so its future is not really promising.

7. Work cited page • QE.A.6.01. ARMED ISLAMIC GROUP. Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) concerning Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities. United Nations, 7 April 2011. http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/NSQE00601E.shtml • GIA: Armed Islamist Groups Serving the Algerian Sécuritémilitaire? Algeria-Watch, March 2003. http://www.algeria-watch.org/en/aw/gia_sm.htm • Armed Islamic Group (GIA) Attacks from 1990-1996. American University. http://www1.american.edu/TED/hpages/terror/gia.htm • ALGERIA: Islamist terrorism evolution. NyTimes, January 6th, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/news/16iht-17oxan-Algeria.9259512.html?_r=1& • The Algerian Massacres, Erica Ficcardi and Monier Khalil. http://www2.needham.k12.ma.us/nhs/cur/kane98/kanep2/algeria/EFMK.html • ARMED ISLAMIC GROUP – G.I.A. Global Jihad The 21° century phenomenon. http://www.globaljihad.net/view_page.asp?id=298