ALGIERS, Algeria - Algerian police deployed heavily outside mosques Friday amid fears that new riots over rising food prices and chronic unemployment could break out after prayers.
Youths in the North African nation have been rioting for days following sudden price hikes for staples including sugar, flour and oil. There is also generalized frustration that Algeria's abundant gas and oil resources have not translated into broader prosperity.
On Friday, police cleared away barricades of burning tires set up by protesters in the capital, and traffic was moving smoothly again.
Many officers patrolled outside mosques in the tense working-class neighborhoods of Bab el-Oued and Kouba. Algeria's sports minister canceled football matches scheduled for Friday.
A day earlier, youths torched government buildings and threw stones at police. Police helicopters circled over Algiers, and stores closed early. The unrest has spread to many cities, in some cases breaking out after Muslim prayers.
Neighboring Tunisia has also seen violent protests in recent weeks over unemployment, leading to three deaths.
Algeria is still recovering from an Islamic insurgency that ravaged the country throughout the 1990s after the army canceled 1992 elections that fundamentalists were expected to win.
Up to 200,000 people were killed in the violence that ensued. Attacks continue today, though they are more sporadic.
