[AFRICANEWS] Riots erupted in Algerian desert city last weekend after months of water shortages left taps running dry and forced residents to queue to access water for their households.
In Tiaret, a central Algerian city of less than 200,000 located 155 miles (250 kilometers) southwest of Algiers protestors wearing balaclavas set tires aflame and set up make-shift barricades blocking roads to protest their water being rationed, according to pictures and videos circulating on social media.
The unrest followed demands from President bdelmajid Tebboune to rectify the suffering. At a council of ministers meeting last week, he implored his cabinet to implement "emergency measures" in Tiaret. Several government ministers were later sent to "ask for an apology from the population" and to promise that access to drinking water would be restored.
POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS AND CLIMATE IMPACT
The rioting comes as Tebboune is expected to vie for a second term as president of the oil-rich nation — Africa's largest by area. Northern Africa has been among the world's worst-hit regions by climate change. A multi-year drought has drained critical reservoirs and reduced the amount of rainfall that has historically replenished them.
| Multi-year is merely normal weather cycles. Come back when it’s been multiple decades, and then we’ll re-evaluate. |
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