SUMMARY

GIA (Groupe Islamique Armé, Armed Islamic Group), also known as Al-Jama’ah al-Islamiyah al-Musallah, was an Algerian rebel group. When AIS (Armée Islamique du Salut, Islamique Salvation Army), the other large rebel group in Algeria declared a nationwide ceasefire and denounced the use of violence towards civilians in 1997, a conflict arose within GIA. The ceasefire subsequently led to the creation of several splinter groups that have been active in various categories of organized violence.

The violent incident that entered this dyad into the UCDP data was what by newspapers was described as infighting. As mentioned above GIA was disintegrating, splinter groups and different individuals took it upon them to continue the struggle and two of these splinter groups found themselves in an armed battle that claimed the lives of 62 people. This was in the wake of the above-described turmoil created by the incentive to stop the targeting of civilians that had been forwarded AIS. The first event in this dyad took place on 26 April 1998. The event is described as GIA infighting in the mountainous areas of Sidi Bel Abbés in Algeria was reported by global media and drew attention to the rapid deterioration of GIA. This is the only recorded event of this dyad, however, the resentments between the different splinter groups of GIA were not mitigated. When the former leader of GIA, Noureddine Boudiaf, was apprehended, and later sentenced to death, in 2007, he spoke to the differences within the group during the late nineties and said that he was in open conflict with other leaders of GIA at the time of, and the time following the splitting of GIA.

The non-state conflict between the GIA – El Ahd Battalion and the GIA – El Khadra Battalion is first included in UCDP data in 1998. In April that year a clash between the two groups caused at least 60 battle-related deaths.