Fresh rioting breaks out in Algeria

Algiers, 08 Jan – (ANA) - Fresh rioting has broken out in the Algerian capital Algiers and several other cities, after days of unrest over food price increases and unemployment.

Police fired tear gas and used water cannon on stone-throwing youths following Friday prayers in Algiers.

The riots have been linked to rising food prices, housing shortages, and wider social and political grievances.

Government ministers called for calm, while earlier the football federation cancelled all this weekend's matches.

Football stadiums are one of the only places where people publicly voice their political frustrations, and matches are seen a potential catalyst for protests.

The Youth and Sports Minister, Hachemi Djiar, appealed for calm, saying "violence has never had results, not in Algeria or anywhere else, and our youth know that".

Algeria "has the means to take care of its youth and that is what it is doing through various development projects", the AFP news agency quoted him as saying. (ANA)

FA/ANA/08 January 2011--------