25 Civilians Slain Before Algeria Vote
ALGIERS — Under the shadow of a massacre, Algerians voted Thursday in parliamentary elections boycotted by opposition parties and ethnic Berbers.
Hours before the vote, suspected Islamic guerrillas slaughtered 25 civilians, including 14 children, in the village of Sendjas in Chlef province, about 125 miles west of Algiers, the capital.
It was the latest in a series of massacres and bomb attacks in an undeclared civil war that has claimed more than 100,000 lives in the last decade.
Political analysts predicted a large win by the current government coalition in the election to choose 389 members of the lower house of parliament.
Pro-Berber opposition forces had called for a boycott, saying military-backed authorities were illegitimate and planned massive fraud. Results were not expected before today.
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