Some 100,000 to 200,000 Algerians were believed to be internally displaced at the end of 1999, but more precise estimates of their numbers were virtually impossible because the international community had no access to the country's conflict zone. Algeria hosted approximately 85,000 refugees at the end of 1999, including some 80,000 from Western Sahara, and nearly 4,000 Palestinians. A brutal insurgency since 1992 has killed an estimated 100,000 or more Algerians, many of them civilians. The Islamic Salvation Army, an armed group affiliated with FIS, responded by launching an armed campaign. Other indigenous Islamic rebel groups have joined in the violence.
Insurgents typically slit the throats of their victims.
Many victims were residents of remote villages. Government counterinsurgency tactics also caused many deaths, according to analysts. The Algerian government routinely has blocked foreigners from investigating the violence. An exception occurred in 1998, when Algerian officials briefly permitted a UN delegation to investigate massacre sites. The UN delegation reported that government and anti-government forces were guilty of abuses but concluded that insurgents had committed the worst atrocities.