Brawl breaks out in Algeria
2009-08-04 17:05
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Algeria
Berber, Arab, Islamic, and European values mix and sometimes clash as Algeria struggles for peace
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Algiers - About a hundred Algerians and Chinese migrant workers fought with knives and bludgeons in the capital Algiers, leaving three injured, witnesses said on Tuesday.
The brawl on Monday in the eastern district of Bab Ezzouar, an area known to locals as "Chinatown", was sparked by a confrontation between a shop owner and Chinese motorist.
"I told him not to park his car in front of my shop, but he insulted me," shopkeeper Abdelkrim Salouda, who was wearing a bloodstained gown, told Reuters.
"I punched him, I thought it was over, but after 30 minutes he came back with at least 50 Chinese to take revenge. It is a miracle I am still alive," said Salouda, 31, whose head was bandaged.
Thousands of Chinese migrants work in Algeria, primarily in the construction industry, and their presence is a source of resentment among some local people in the North African country, where unemployment is high.
On Tuesday, groups of Algerian residents stood outside buildings where Chinese people live.
"We can't live with them," said shop owner Rachid Azoug, who was among a group of men watching a row of Chinese shops that were boarded up.
"They drink alcohol and do not respect our religion. They must leave."
Police and gendarme paramilitary police were in the neighbourhood conducting an investigation, local residents said.
An official at the Chinese embassy in Algiers had no immediate comment. Local residents said a group of Chinese diplomats visited the scene on Monday under police escort.