Located in the sweltering desert of south-west Algeria, the refugee camps of the Saharwi are home to more than 200,000 people, displaced from Western Sahara in 1979 when Morocco annexed the disputed territory in a conflict the world has long since forgotten. A new generation is growing up in the camps – eager to return to their homeland by whatever means, and frustrated by the Polisaro movement's slow dealings with Morocco and the UN.

01/17/2013 15:55 GMT

ALGIERS, Jan 17, 2013 (AFP) - The hostage crisis at the In Amenas gas field has dragged Algeria into the Mali conflict despite its opposition to military intervention, with the kidnapping of foreigners coming on the heels of its decision to give logistical support to France.

The Algerian authorities for a long time insisted on a political solution to the turmoil in Mali, but finally allowed overflights by French fighter planes to support a ground offensive aimed at ousting Islamists in the country's north.

A campaigner on behalf of unemployed people has been arrested and detained in Algeria, amid continuing repression of social and economic rights activists, Amnesty International said today.

Taher Belabès was arrested in the southern town of Ouargla on 2 January, after police dispersed a reportedly peaceful protest that demanded jobs and the departure of local officials in charge of tackling unemployment.

This document provides an overview of developments in the Mediterranean Basin and other regions of interest from 18 - 24 September, with hyperlinks to source material highlighted and underlined in the text. For more information on the topics below or other issues pertaining to the region, please contact the members of the Med Basin Team, or visit our website at www.cimicweb.org.

Sahel Food Crisis 1

North Africa 2

Northeast Africa 4

Horn of Africa 6

September 2012, Geneva, Switzerland - During the period June-August 2012, numerous wildfires burned throughout pine and cork oak forests in northern Algeria, scorching more than 30,000 hectares across Algeria, destroying both forest and bush. The flames also burned houses in several provinces, especially in the east.

The Algerian Civil Protection service mobilised 15,000 fire fighters to suppress fires. According to the Algerian press fires in such a size had not been seen since Independence.

09/02/2012 14:45 GMT

ALGIERS, Sept 2, 2012 (AFP) - Storms sweeping across northeast Algeria have killed 20 people and injured 56, the state news agency APS on Sunday cited emergency services as saying.

It said nine people died when torrential rain and high winds hit the regions of Tebessa 600 kilometres (360 miles) east of Algiers, Tlemcen (600 kilometres west of the capital) and M'sila (250 kilometres to its south).

Another person was killed by a lightning strike in the Blida region 50 kilometres south of Algiers, and 21 homes were also inundated.

Returns on investments in health are low where governance issues are not addressed. Bribery, corruption, and inefficiency undermine health care delivery and contribute to poor health outcomes. If hospitals fall apart because the repair funds are stolen, if a mother is not able to get medicine for her child without paying a bribe, if counterfeit and sub-standard medicines are sold without any regulation, the poor pay most heavily for it, often with their lives and the lives of their children.

07/31/2012 18:24 GMT

ALGER, 31 juil 2012 (AFP) - Un centre d'accueil a été aménagé à Sidi Fredj, à l'ouest d'Alger, pour les réfugiés syriens et d'autres mesures ont été examinées mardi en conférence interministérielle, selon des sources officielles.

Le ministère de l'Intérieur et des Collectivités locales a fait état d'une réunion avec celui de la Solidarité nationale et de la Famille pour entériner des recommandations d'aide aux réfugiés syriens.

07/30/2012 09:09 GMT

Par Béatrice KHADIGE

ALGER, 30 juil 2012 (AFP) - "Nous avons fui la guerre, les destructions, la mort", raconte Borhane, venu de Homs, ville du centre de la Syrie, assis sur la pelouse d'une place d'Alger. Comme la plupart des réfugiés il se garde bien de parler politique.

"Cela n'a rien à voir avec la politique", s'empresse d'ajouter cet homme qui a gardé une certaine réserve même à plus de 3.000 km de son pays où la peur des "moukhabarat" (le renseignement syrien) reste tenace.